Whether you're a student starting out, a finance professional planning a career pivot, or a startup founder facing a specific business challenge, Pay It Forward connects you with established industry professionals for face-to-face, one-to-one mentorship. It's a chance to get advice from people who have already worked through the challenges you're facing. Sessions are 15 minutes long and take place at the Pay It Forward Lounge in Hall 3, from 18 to 20 November, 12.30pm to 4.30pm. Come with one specific question or challenge, and leave with focused, practical advice.

Every leader started somewhere. At NUS, that start can come as early as age 15. Prof Chai Kah Hin of NUS SCALE and Prof Chia Tek Yew of NUS AIDF sit down together to show how a student’s first spark of interest can grow into a career in digital finance. The NUS Youth Programmes are where that spark begins. The Asian Institute of Digital Finance (AIDF) is where it turns into deep expertise and real-world impact. Find out how the two programmes connect, and why education can’t wait, especially as AI changes how money works.

Talent rewiring is redrawing the map itself, institutions now follow people first, capital and headquarters second. Financial institutions increasingly decide where to build based on where the talent already is, not just where capital or headquarters sit. This discussion looks at how that dynamic is redrawing where financial institutions locate technology and operations, and what it means for markets competing to become talent hubs rather than just financial centres. The key question it looks to answer: is the future of finance shaped more by where the talent is than by where the capital is?