Professor Karen Elliott PhD

• Machine Learning Course, London School of Economics, 2021
• R and Python course, Jumping Rivers, 2019
• Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) Expert Course, University of St Gallen, Switzerland, 2016.
• Office of Government Commerce (OGC): PRINCE2, MSP (Management of Successful Programmes), MoV (Management of Value), MoR (Management of Risk), Change Management (CM)
• PhD in Sociology, Durham University, 2013
• MA in Social Research Methods (Sociology), Durham University, 2006
• PGC in Human Resource Management, University of Sunderland, 2001
• BSc (Hons) in Sport Science, University of Teesside, 1999

Karen Elliott is Professor of Financial Technology (FinTech) at the University of Birmingham Business School leading Digital Finance modules on the MBA/Exec MBA programmes. She has been named as ‘Standout #35 Women in FinTech Powerlist by Innovate Finance’ for Policy and Governance 2019, 2020, and 2021, judging the powerlist for 2023/4 and featured in the Kalifa Review driving the future of Financial Services and FinTech. Karen is a Director of the UKFin Network+, Responsible AI Hub for FS: ESG & Sustainability, and Strablib.ai project with Stratiphy, whilst co-Directing the INFINITY Hub (>£10m EPSRC/Innovate UK/Research England) to optimise trustworthy, responsible, and ethical use of digital technologies (ML/AI/Blockchain). Likewise, co-led Finclusion (Gates Foundation/Turing Institute £100k), which employed blockchain technology to verify credentials for vulnerable groups. Prior to joining academia, she worked as a project, risk, change, and programme manager across public, private, and voluntary sectors.

She has publications in international journals including IEEE (4*), ACM (4*), IJOPM (4*), CHI (3*), ERM (3*), Springer Nature: Society (3*), JOCM (2*), Big Data and Society (2*), Technology in Society (2*), and sits on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies (JEEE), reviewing for several journals, UKRI grants and advising on the FCA Nvidia AI sandboxes and tech sprints. She forms part of The IEEE Planet Positive Directive, establishing ethical and social implementations for intelligent and autonomous systems and technologies inspiring the creation of Standards (IEEE P7000™ series and beyond). Furthermore, Karen is an advisory board member for FinTechs: Incuto, Saible, Legacy Compass, Kintara, and Irmai. Digital Advisory Board Member for The Centre for the New Midlands and Browne Jacobson ESG SIG.  Likewise, appointed as the High-Level Ambassador for Women in Digital Finance GESDC and Santander top 50 women in Finance, and founding member of Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR). She creates a fusion of academic, practical, and commercial socio-technical considerations at the individual and corporate level, seeking to find balance for an equitable digital society, while sustaining the planet.

Module Leader:

• MBA - Fintech, Digital Finance and Blockchain
• EMBA - Fintech, Digital Finance and Blockchain
• MSc FinTech – Ethical AI and Regulations in FinTech

Karen currently supervises doctoral students in the following areas:

Fintech
Corporate Digital Responsibility
Data and Digital Ethics
Financial Inclusion
Sustainable Finance
Responsible innovation

Current doctoral student: Mr Shufeng Song

Agentic AI is impacting the future of work and within FinTech, as a major growth industry in the UK. The importance of Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) as a framework and mechanism to navigate building safer AI solutions is key for organisations to understand responsible use of the digital technologies including cloud, mobile, blockchain, and quantum.

To succeed, underpinning the use of technology is a prerequisite of how to gain customers trust when the financial industry mortgage crisis (2008-9) remains fresh in consumers memories. FinTech organisations need to gain human and technological trust as advances are rapidly changing the financial services landscape via machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) innovation.

In addition, hacking and cyber security data breach events are continuous features of the news. Karen and Professor Aad van Moorsel (Computer Science) have formed a successful socio-technical partnership evidenced by their track record of research awards, FinTrust (£1.2m EPSRC), Finclusion (£100k, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation/Turing Institute) and Agency (£3.5m EPSRC) working with Atom Bank (Durham) towards optimising FinTech services. ‘FinTrust’ examines the issue of socio-technical trust in FinTech organisations, specifically, increased automation of processes and services in using ML and AI.

In short, trust engineering where the use of algorithms presents challenges to consumer trust via digitalisation of financial services. Likewise, ‘Finclusion’ uses responsible innovation in digital technologies to explore identity verification for what the FCA terms ‘vulnerable’ customers to permit open and equal access to financial and Fintech services across society. ‘Agency’ utilises interdisciplinary scientific methods, techniques, technology, and collaborative societal approaches to provide people with the freedom to interact online by exploring, identifying, and addressing complex digital harms in our digital world. 

This has been translated into the Stratlib project funded by Innovate UK (PI) to embed trustworthy AI into wealthtech operational systems and build resilience as AI innovation continues to increase.

Research Centre Affiliations:

• BISCA
• IDAI
• Centre for Responsible Business

• Member of Prime Minister Champions Group for Dementia – Digital Inclusion Lead, to inform the new strategy in development.  Attend bi-monthly meetings, draft strategy segments and provide research insights, attend meetings with government ministers.
• Ambassador for the Digital Poverty Alliance - Attend quarterly meetings and assist other Ambassadors with a recycling scheme to repurpose devices to underprivileged areas.  In addition, provide research guidance and speak at events to inform policy.  The DPA is led by Lord Knight and Industry with Paul Finnis (see website for further details).
• Corporate Digital Responsibility (.net) – founding member and work collectively on production of outputs. Part of the Digital Responsibility Forum – launching 2023, to provide CDR as a service, a mixture of academic and industry collaboration. Quarterly meetings and joint papers/reports.
• IEEE Global Planet Positive – attend events and provide input into IEEE standards based on ethical AI, CDR, and digital inclusion. Quarterly meetings.
• Radix – EU based think tank on digital issues. Quarterly meetings and research-based insights when requested.