Introduction

This new course allows you to top up your existing qualifications to an honour’s degree in one year, whilst benefiting from all that Northumbria University has to offer.

This course has been designed to give you the ideal balance between a broad understanding of business, whilst developing your specialist knowledge in international banking and finance as well as transferable professional and managerial techniques.

The course includes specialist modules in financial markets, and risk management. You’ll gain first-hand experience of financial markets through utilizing financial information and taking advantage of opportunities to build a track record and portfolio.
 

Programme Features

You will be able to experience real work environment by building a track record and portfolio of the financial market. 

Modules

Career Development and Research Informed  Learning

This module has twin aims, firstly supporting your transition into higher education by developing your academic skills in the context of your business, management and finance studies. The second aim is to equip you with the necessary knowledge and transferable skills to maximise your future employability and career development. This module begins by supporting you as a final year undergraduate student to understand, enhance and demonstrate advanced academic skills. The first part of the module will therefore help you strengthen and enhance your academic writing skills, progress your critical thinking ability and enable you to understand research and how to use academic journal articles. The second part of the module will focus upon your employability and leadership attributes, exploring key aspects of your knowledge, skills, personality, values and abilities to enable you to make well-informed career choices.

The topics covered on this module will include:
• Academic writing skills;
• Understanding learning styles;
• Working in teams;
• Enhancing critical thinking and writing skills;
• Understanding research and the effective use of journal articles;
• Developing a literature review;
• Understanding Employability and leadership attributes;
• Evaluate the global graduate labour market;
• Design career personal development plan.

This module aims to develop and empower you as a student to become a critical and reflective thinker with respect to both your academic development and to your future career planning.

Responsible Strategy

In this module you will learn about the context of responsible strategic thinking, how to identify and explore sustainable business opportunities as a source of competitive advantage. You will gain an appreciation of the overarching principles of setting and executing a responsible and sustainable organisational strategy. Within the setting of these strategic objectives, you will understand how the associated responsible decision making will impact on both internal and external stakeholders. Your learning will span across private and public sector organisations, MNEs and SMEs and how each of different organisations and industries interact with the responsible and sustainable business opportunities and challenges.

Contemporary Business Enquiry

This module will draw on your student learning across your undergraduate programme of study, the module aims to provide you with the opportunity to engage in depth with contemporary research in your specialist named degree. You will learn about critical thinking and reflection, and doing so, you will develop the necessary critical skills to perform both of these effectively as a learner in higher education. You will develop an enquiring mind and undertake a critical review of existing literature on a contemporary issue within business and management disciplines, applying appropriate methods to collection and analysis of extant research, including reviewing literature and critical evaluation of business practice and academic theory.

International Finance and Responsible Financial Management

This module is designed for business students to develop a non-technical understanding of the key aspects of corporate financial theory and practice. The module covers the core aspects of raising capital and determining financing, though to investing capital in major corporate decisions, and finally returning value to shareholders.

Specifically you will study in the module; Sustainable Value Management, Stock Market Efficiency, Capital Asset Pricing Model, Portfolio Theory, International Cost of Capital, Capital Structure Decisions, Dividend Policy, Corporate Valuation and International Merger & Acquisition activity.

The module has a focus on business responsibility of all of those areas, concentrating on professional codes of conduct in areas such as the banking industry, accounting and similar finance areas, and the types of dilemmas that graduates could face in professional practice. This module will develop you as a critical and reflective practitioner. In the module you will become more aware of the issues that responsible businesses face when attempting to implement financial concepts and theories into practice.

On completion of this module you will have produced a reflective learning journal (in the form of a Blog) based on your evaluation of theory to real world scenarios. As part of that journal will have watched and reflected on appropriate financial documentaries and movies which explore responsible financial management issues. Finally you will be apply your academic knowledge to a real world case and be able to critically evaluate the tensions between the financial academic theories as a responsible business attempts to maximise shareholder wealth.

Risk in Financial Institutions I

In this module you will learn about the capital risks faced by financial institutions. These include credit risk, risks from securitisation exposure, market risk and liquidity risk. You will study the specific areas of credit, market and liquidity risk in the context of the relevant regulatory framework (The Basel Accords) and draw on case study material provided by high profile banks and financial institutions. You will be expected to develop an understanding of the nature of these interlinked risks as well as to understand how they are measured and managed in line with regulations. The module will cover topics such as:

• A typology of risk in banking and financial institutions: definitions; types; and importance.
• International banking regulation and capital adequacy.
• Credit, market and liquidity risk regulatory framework under the Basel Accords.
• Credit Risk: Consumer/commercial credit risk and credit decision making; Measuring credit risk through credit scoring models and modern advanced techniques; counterparty credit risk using examples of the loan and derivative networks, including how to calculate counterparty credit risk via the credit valuation adjustment.
• Market Risk: Measuring market risk through Value-at-Risk models (variance-covariance, historical simulation and Monte-Carlo simulation models); the move toward expected shortfall; other contemporary regulatory models.
• Liquidity Risk: Market and balance sheet sources; measurement techniques; stored vs purchase management styles.

Risk in Financial Institutions II

In this module you will focus on the specific area of treasury risk arising from interest rate and foreign exchange rate risk. You will also explore the ever-changing world of operational risk within financial institutions. You will investigate how the risks faced by financial institutions are linked via systemic risk and learn which institutions may be more susceptible to shocks. You will also learn how to measure and manage aspects of these banking risks with the help of case studies set within banking and finance institutions. Further, a key aspect of the module is to determine why an effective fraud risk assessment framework is essential to financial institutions to avoid financial Loss and reputational damage. Prominent real-life financial disasters will be examined to demonstrate how these issues can impact upon banking and financial institutions. The module will cover topics such as:

• Interest rate risk: the level and movement of interest rates; term structure theory; sources of interest rate risk to the banking book; measurement models (repricing gap, maturity and duration models); asset and liability management; Regulatory requirements.
• The impact of foreign exchange rate on financial institutions.
• Operational risk: sources; measurement models; operational risk management policies and procedure; regulatory implications.
• How to develop a Fraud risk assessment and execute it within the global and digital banking environment.
• The concept of systemic risk within the financial system and the macroprudential regulations developed to mitigate such a risk.

Assessment

Assignments, poster presentation(s), group presentation(s), literature review, etc.

Recognition

Northumbia University Newcastle Business School is AACSB accredited. AACSB is known for its very high standard, less than 5% of business schools worldwide have received this accreditation.

QF Level

QF Level : Level 5 QR Registration No. : 24/000532/L5  Validity Period : 01/09/2024 - 31/08/2029

Importance of choosing a non-local top-up with QF Level 5 Employment Degree qualifications pitched at QF Level 5 are formally recognised by the HKSAR Government for employment purposes within the Civil Service for graduate posts. Further Studies Having been recognised at QF Level 5, this top-up degree programme meets the standard of locally-accredited bachelor's degree programmes. Upon graduation, students can pursue their further studies at Master’s degree level in Hong Kong or Overseas. Graduates of this top-up degree programme can enjoy a 20% alumni tuition fee discount when they study a Master’s degree at Northumbria University’s UK campuses (London or Newcastle).    Financial Assistance and Scholarships Various HKSAR Government financial assistance schemes and scholarships are only made available to eligible students enrolled into programmes with QF recognition.

Fees

• Application Fee : HK$200 (No application fee before the deadline!)
• Registration Fee : HK$3,500
• Tuition Fee : HK$79,110 by 2 instalments

Scholarships

A variety of attractive scholarships are available to current and graduating SHAPE students.

Financial Aids ​

​The following HKSAR Government financial assistance schemes are available to eligible students who pursue this programme at SHAPE:

Financial Assistance Schemes		Amount (HK$)
	Non-means-tested Subsidy Scheme (NMTSS)	Up to $35,120 per year  [AY2025/26]
	Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students (FASP)	Up to $95,090 (Tuition fee grant) Up to $9,200 (Academic expenses grant) Up to 59,540 (Living expenses loan) [AY2025/26]
	Non-means-tested Loan Scheme for Post-secondary Students (NLSPS)	Up to the annual tuition fees payable in the academic year [AY2025/26]

For details including eligibility and subsidy amount, please refer to the hyperlink of each scheme.

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Career Prospects

On graduation you’ll be well-equipped to embark on a business career in the UK or internationally. Your in-depth study of international management will give you an extra edge in employability.

Further Studies

• Having been recognised at QF Level 5, this top-up degree programme meets the standard of locally-accredited bachelor's degree programmes.  Upon graduation, students can pursue their further studies at Master’s degree level in Hong Kong or Overseas