Talk
Banking Transformation through FinTech and the Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Payments

Bio
Prof. Dr. Otilia Manta is a University Professor, Dr. habil., within the "FINANCE AND FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGIES (FINTECH)" Master's degree program under the Faculty of Finance and Accounting in the Romanian–American University (Disciplines: Trends in the FinTech industry, Digital technologies in insurance (InsurTech ), Green Finance). Work Experience: Scientific Researcher of the Romanian Academy; Evaluation Expert and Rapporteur for EU Projects; Expert in investment projects, strengthening the capacities of educational institutions, sustainable development at the local and global levels; Founder of companies and NGOs, with over 20 years of experience in financial consulting and banking, EU project management, and scientific research in the multidisciplinary field; and international reviewer. Experience in more than 15,000 investment projects, of which 80% received EU funding; evaluation and rapporteur for more than 300 EU projects, 40 written books, and 400 published articles; Editor in journals for international scientists and Founder/Editor of national journals; reviewer of over 400 ISI Clarivate papers. (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Otilia-Manta, CV, https://csde.academia.edu/otiliamanta/CurriculumVitae). Research areas: digital financial technologies; international finance; international economy; European finance; management, entrepreneurship, and green transition. Center for Financial and Monetary Research “Victor Slăvescu”, and CE-MONT, Romanian Academy, 050711 Bucharest, Romania finance; financial analysis; financial technology (FinTech); innovation sustainable development; banking; financial management EU studies; economy; sustainable development; new technology; collaborative economy and time banks; academic development; sustainable development education.

Talk
Opportunities for a Sustainable Economy

Bio
Prof. Valentina Vasile holds a PhD in Economics and is a Full Professor and Senior Researcher. She is the Director of the Institute of National Economy at the Romanian Academy and teaches at the Nicolae Titulescu University of Bucharest. She is also a PhD Advisor. She has extensive experience as a researcher in economics, participating in national and international interdisciplinary research projects, with her primary research topics including labor economics, migration, human capital, digital economy and employment, and social policies. She has strong international cooperation experience as a coordinator and team member in interdisciplinary research projects financed by European funds, including Horizon 2020, the SEE Program, Black Sea Basin ENI CBC, CEDEFOP, ILO, Eurofound, and other sources such as projects funded by universities (e.g., Hitotsubashi University – Tokyo, Japan). She has published scientific papers and books indexed in the Web of Science, Scopus, and other international databases and serves as a reviewer for several scientific journals.

Talk
From Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility to Value Creation: An Analysis of FinTech Online Corporate Communication Strategies and Practices

Bio
Dr. Maria Palazzo (PhD, AFHEA, FHEA, MSc (Honours), MA, BA (Honours)) is an Associate Professor, Universitas Mercatorum (Italy) and a member of the “Sustainability Communication Centre” (SCC) (http://dsc.unisa.it/scc/). She was a former Lecturer at the University of Bedfordshire, School of Business (London, Luton, UK), a Visiting Scholar at the University of Granada (Granada, Spain), and a Visiting Lecturer at the Universidad del Norte, Escuela de Negocios (Barranquilla, Colombia). She has published articles in Tourism, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, Journal of Brand Management and in other academic outlets.

Talk
Challenges in Implementing Financial Technologies

Bio
Prof. Ovidiu Folcut earned his Doctorate in Economics in 2004 with a doctoral thesis entitled "Comparative competitive advantage on the example of Romania's relations with the European Union" and was also an MBA graduate (James Madison University, Virginia, USA, 2002). He currently works as a Full Professor at the Faculty of International Affairs within the URA. To date, he has published 11 books, over 80 articles in magazines with national and international ratings or in the volumes of prestigious conferences. He has participated as a member in 14 national and international research projects (FP7) and coordinated three national research projects. Ovidiu’s deep knowledge of the international business environment will be invaluable in addressing the competitive advantages of the project . His insights into sustainable development can help shape strategies that ensure a research project aligns with ethical and environmental considerations in digital era.

Talk
Banking Transformation through FinTech and the Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Payments

Bio
Prof. Dr. Otilia Manta is a University Professor, Dr. habil., within the "FINANCE AND FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGIES (FINTECH)" Master's degree program under the Faculty of Finance and Accounting in the Romanian–American University (Disciplines: Trends in the FinTech industry, Digital technologies in insurance (InsurTech ), Green Finance). Work Experience: Scientific Researcher of the Romanian Academy; Evaluation Expert and Rapporteur for EU Projects; Expert in investment projects, strengthening the capacities of educational institutions, sustainable development at the local and global levels; Founder of companies and NGOs, with over 20 years of experience in financial consulting and banking, EU project management, and scientific research in the multidisciplinary field; and international reviewer. Experience in more than 15,000 investment projects, of which 80% received EU funding; evaluation and rapporteur for more than 300 EU projects, 40 written books, and 400 published articles; Editor in journals for international scientists and Founder/Editor of national journals; reviewer of over 400 ISI Clarivate papers. (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Otilia-Manta, CV, https://csde.academia.edu/otiliamanta/CurriculumVitae). Research areas: digital financial technologies; international finance; international economy; European finance; management, entrepreneurship, and green transition. Center for Financial and Monetary Research “Victor Slăvescu”, and CE-MONT, Romanian Academy, 050711 Bucharest, Romania finance; financial analysis; financial technology (FinTech); innovation sustainable development; banking; financial management EU studies; economy; sustainable development; new technology; collaborative economy and time banks; academic development; sustainable development education.

Talk
Empowering Communities through Green Fintech: A Pathway to a Sustainable Future

Bio
Prof. Dr. Giusy Sica is Scientific Director of the "Policies for Cultural and Creative Enterprises" Hub at the Alto Osservatorio per le Politiche Europee and Co-leader and Coordinator of Officina Keller within the Horizon2020 VOJEXT project. Previously, she was a Research Fellow at the L.U.P.T. Center at the University of Naples Federico II. As Head of Research, Innovation, and Development at Officina Keller, Sica is a member of the International Lab—Cultural Changes, Inequalities, and Sustainable Development scientific group. She coordinates European research reports for Colturazione and serves as a Policy Youth Leader for the European Parliament, sitting on the Jurors’ Board for the European Capital of Democracy. In 2024, she was selected as a member of the NATO Youth Summit. Her passion for women's empowerment led her to form the Re-Generation (Y)outh Think tank, an independent network of Italian women working to achieve political, social, economic, and cultural empowerment for young women through sustainability, cultural regeneration, and innovation. Sica has been recognized by Forbes Italia as one of the "100 Under 30 Leaders of the Future" in the category of "Social Entrepreneur". D-Repubblica included her among the 50 most influential women of the year, and F di Cairo listed her, alongside Kamala Harris, as one of the youngest social innovators of 2020. She is a TEDx speaker, trainer, evaluator, and speaker. She was also selected by the European Parliament's Youth Outreach Unit as one of the 50 most influential young European founders. Currently, she is a PhD Candidate in Sustainability and ESG Agenda at the Universitas Mercatorum with different publications. She is also the co-author of two books, "Sustainable Development and the Ecological Transition" and the report "Entrepreneurial Activation in Italy: GEM 2023 Report".

Bio
Prof. Dr. Shigeyuki Hamori is a Professor of Economics at the Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University, Japan. Interests: applied time series analysis; empirical finance; data science; international finance