Where are the low-hanging fruits in using AI for optimisation of the operational processes at VP? Do new data-driven business models have potential for VP? These are key questions for two current Master’s thesis projects at VP. The answers may very well be “in the prediction of errors and workloads before they occur” and “yes”.

AI at VP

“I’m currently investigating the possibilities of using AI in the process flow at VP. The starting point for my thesis is a proof-of-concept for applying AI methodology to the data at VP,” explains Martin Jensen from DTU. He is combining studies in industrial engineering with mathematical modelling, and is currently writing his Master’s thesis in alliance with VP Securities. This fundamentally concerns defining the lowest-hanging fruit when applying algorithms, AI, or ML to the processes at VP.

The connection was established through the “match my thesis” website, where companies and students can become connected in order to establish alliances between academic projects and real-life business issues.

Data-driven business models

“Yes. We think VP has a lot of potential in utilising data,” says Nicola Miori about the conclusions of the upcoming Master’s thesis on the potential of data-driven business models. Together with Gustav Lantz, he will soon graduate from CBS Management of Innovation and Business Development. At VP, the two are studying the business model potential of all the data which a CSD like VP collects in the post-trade environment. The Master’s students from CBS were also connected to VP through www.matchmythesis.com.

“The organisation and people at VP are open and inclusive. We get all the help and access to management that we ask for, and we feel that they support our project,” says Gustav Lantz, who has studied in Stockholm, London and Lisbon. His partner in the Master’s project is Italian, and he has studied in China and the USA. They both plan to stay in Denmark or Scandinavia after graduation, due to the job potential and the work-life balance.

Investing in the future

The Master’s students all agree that the response time from managers at VP is very short, and that VP’s commitment to the projects could not be better.

“Having these young, highly-skilled academics working here with us is a matter of preparing for innovation and is literally about investing in the future,” says Henrik Ohlsen, Director, Customers & Communications at VP. “We must innovate in order to stay relevant in the long run, and one way to do that is by establishing data-driven business models and by working smarter through technology. The Master’s students are one of several initiatives pointing to future transformation.”

Together with eight young student assistants in their 20s, the Master’s thesis students have a substantial impact on the company culture at VP, with 170 employees.