AI is top of mind for most financial services organizations, but the question of, 'where to begin?' remains.

Upstart's new AI in Financial Services Professional Certification course is designed to give banking professionals a firm grounding for the potential of AI in financial services —with a particular focus on credit—as well as practical tools to help them begin the journey of applying AI inside their organizations. 

Former Leaders in Lending host Jeff Keltner joins us to unpack what the course entails and why its development has been so crucial.  

Why Upstart decided to develop the course (+ who it’s for)

The AI in Financial Services Professional Certification course is meant to help finance professionals gain a deeper understanding of how AI can work for them without sifting through research papers and scattered video tutorials.

“It’s for those of you who are maybe looking at an internal team building a model and trying to understand, ‘Can this be used in a process I run or a program I manage?’” Keltner said. “Anybody in risk or compliance or that runs a line of business within a financial institution and wants to be able to ask better questions and understand the model, that's really what it was for.”

The course isn’t limited to such individuals, but non-technical finance professionals were top of mind during development. 

With a structured, intentional guide meant to bring more order and consistency into how leaders leverage and apply AI, the road forward is clearer.

The content and structure of the course modules

The course design focuses on giving learners an understanding of how AI models work, how they're built, how they function internally, how to assess the suitability of a model for a given purpose, and more.

The material helps learners answer questions such as: 

• Does it have the right kinds of inputs and outputs?
• Are the accuracy metrics on par with what’s needed in this context?
• What does the use of that model in your world look like? 
• What kind of guardrails might be needed?

“There's a whole section with Annie, our Chief Compliance Officer, talking about governance and oversight and model risk management and all those regulatory concerns,” Keltner said. 

Model appropriateness assessment, management, overseeing, and more have a spot in the course, meant to equip learners with what they need to feel confident in their decisions.

“There's a little section at the end where we get into brain ticklers on ‘How is AI being used in financial services? What are the ideas for where this might be applied?’ And also, ‘What can I be doing to help my organization get ready for an AI power feature?’” Keltner continued.

Foundational knowledge is the beginning of functional knowledge and application. Upstart's course helps to demystify the AI space. 

The process of developing the course (from writing scripts to recording lessons)

Most of the instructors in the course are not actors or scriptwriters, but they stepped up and shared their knowledge with all the enthusiasm and expertise expected for effective teaching.

“The producers would go, ‘Can you give us another take, but sound more podcasting and less professor?’ and I would think, ‘I don't know what that means. I don't know how to voice-act in that way.’ So that was an odd experience to be in there,” Keltner said.

From re-recordings to multiple takes to get the right tone, delivery, and blocking to hair and makeup, each instructor delivered despite being out of their comfort zone.

“I want people to feel empowered to help lead the charge and how and where to use AI effectively in financial services,” Keltner said. “And I hope that's what they come away from this course with.”

With a digestible video-based format, the course is around four to five hours total, making it an ideal job aid for quick bites of knowledge. 

Register for the course for free today and discover a clear and intentional way forward with AI in the financial space.

Stay tuned for new episodes biweekly on the Leaders in Lending Podcast.