FAQ

What is the EU-SDFA?

The EU Supervisory Digital Finance Academy (EU-SDFA) is a technical support project launched by the European Commission – DG REFORM in 2022. The Academy aims to strengthen supervisory capacity of EU national financial supervisory authorities in the area of Digital Finance, and to create a community of tech-savvy supervisors across the EU. It is being implemented for a 3-year duration together with the European University Institute – Florence School of Banking and Finance (EUI-FBF) and the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs). The EU SDFA offers a comprehensive, policy-oriented training programme on Digital Finance, composed of foundational and advanced residential training weeks (organised at the EUI’s premises in Florence), on-line training modules, workshops and other relevant events open to the EU financial supervisory community. The Academy started its activities in October 2022 with 26 participating authorities from 20 Member States, and it currently includes 37 authorities from 26 EU Member States.

How is the EU-SDFA programme designed?

The training and activity programme of the EU-SDFA is jointly designed by the European University Institute (EUI), the European Commission, and the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), leveraging internal own policy and supervisory expertise, as well as feedback from the staff and EU-SDFA coordinators of the participating national competent authorities (NCAs). The programme is reviewed at the end of each academic cycle to reflect relevant regulatory and supervisory developments, and further specific participants’ feedback. The programme has a cross-sectoral approach, and it currently revolves around three main building blocks, namely i) advanced technologies and their applications in the financial sector, ii) digital finance regulation and policy, and iii) impact of advanced technologies and digital finance on supervisory activities.

Who can participate to EU-SDFA training activities?

EU-SDFA is open for participation to central banks, financial supervisory authorities, Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), and Financial Consumer Protection Authorities established in any EU Member State. To join the EU-SDFA, these authorities shall submit a request to the European Commission – DG REFORM over the course of the yearly TSI cycle. If you are interested in knowing whether your authority is already a member of the EU-SDFA, please check here the list of participating authorities: link

If I am not employed by a beneficiary authority, can I participate to EU-SDFA training activities?

Unfortunately, you cannot. EU-SDFA is only open to staff of the participating authorities.

How can an employee of a participating authority enroll to EU-SDFA training activities?

Every beneficiary authority features an internal coordinator tasked with selecting participants from their respective authority to attend each EU-SDFA training week and workshops. You can directly get in touch with your HR unit to indicate the colleague responsible for selecting participants.

What is the attendance cost for EU-SDFA training activities?

EU-SDFA training activities are free of charge for all participating authorities. Each authority has a fixed number of seats for each training week, which it shall allocate depending on internal training needs and pre-requisites for specific courses established within the programme. Travel and accommodation expenses borne by participating authorities’ staff joining EU-SDFA residential training weeks are reimbursed by the EUI-FBF, according to a procedure that is detailed at the end of each training week. Travel and accommodation expenses are not reimbursed for EU-SDFA workshops and side events other than residential training weeks.

Will I get a certification if I attend an EU-SDFA training activity?

Yes. A participant can receive two types of certifications after participating in an EU-SDFA training week (residential and online): (i) a certification of attendance, and (ii) a certification of excellence – upon the successful completion of a test. Upon request, attendance certificates can be issued for EU-SDFA workshops and side events.

How can I know the calendar of EU-SDFA training activities?

We regularly publish information on the calendar of the various EU-SDFA activities on our website and on our official LinkedIn page. Every academic year, we organise at least one info session for all participating authorities to provide information about the forthcoming academic programme and to collect questions and feedback. Follow us to be updated on our activities!

I am a digital finance expert, and I would like to contribute to the EU-SDFA: what should I do?

The EU-SDFA programme instructors and speakers include EU policymakers, ESAs’ and national financial supervisory authorities’ staff and experts, as well as industry representatives, based on the specific topics covered within the programme and the scope of training and workshop sessions. In case of interest, you can contact us through our functional mailboxes (see below), by specifying your specific area of expertise and your experience in the area of digital finance supervision and regulation.

I would like to know more: what should I do?

Get in touch with us! You can contact us through our official mailboxes, sdfa@eui.eu, and REFORM-EUSDFA@ec.europa.eu.