Latest news with #PaulTaylor
New York Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Nottingham Forest Q&A: Nuno press conference, Champions League hopes
May 23, 2025 at 9:30 AM EDT Nottingham Forest have one final opportunity to achieve their Champions League dreams when Chelsea visit the City Ground on Sunday. Nuno Espirito Santo's side know a win over their rivals for a top-five finish will likely secure Europa League football next season. If they get the three points and either Newcastle or Aston Villa fail to win, it would also be enough to sneak Forest back into Champions League qualification. Victory at West Ham last weekend saw Forest perform more like the side that had established themselves in the top five for much of the second half of the season. They are already the first Premier League side to double their points tally from one season to the next. Can they go one step further on the final day? Nuno has just faced the media in his final pre-match press conference of the campaign and Paul Taylor will be here to answer your questions on all things Forest related from 2.30pm. Paul Taylor
Finextra
21-05-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Finca taps Thought Machine for BaaS platform
Finca, a global leader in inclusive finance, has partnered with Thought Machine, the next-generation banking technology company, to launch '361 by FINCA', a transformative operating platform to scale financial inclusion, beginning in Africa. 0 To date, financial services providers (FSPs) have struggled to support the financial wellbeing of low-income customers, largely due to rigid, poorly tailored products and cumbersome loan assessment and enrollment processes. '361 by FINCA' is a first-of-a-kind platform powered by Vault Core, introducing new levels of configurability and efficiency previously unattainable for many FSPs in emerging markets. With Vault Core's real-time architecture and API-first design, FINCA will be able to deliver flexible, integrated financial products tailored to help low-income customers invest in opportunities, build financial resilience, and access streamlined, automated loan assessments and renewals. The technology will also allow FINCA to rapidly scale across African markets and integrate with customer service channels and interaction points. Thought Machine's modern technology and innovative approach position it to be the ideal partner for the platform—Vault Core is completely free from legacy code and designed for efficiency and scale. The '361 by FINCA' platform will seamlessly integrate into and enrich the functional capabilities of the existing business software stack. With Vault Core, FINCA gains the flexibility to launch innovative products tailored to the diverse needs of its customers, including smallholder farmers, families on the margins, and microentrepreneurs. Its real-time data capabilities and modular design mean faster rollouts, greater personalisation, and a more agile response to evolving market needs. 'We're building a new fintech platform that is fast, flexible, and deeply connected to people's lives,' said Herman Spruit, CEO, 361 by FINCA. 'With 361, powered by Thought Machine's technology, we can create innovative, personalised financial products that grow with people's lives—whether saving for school, starting a business, or supporting their families.' Paul Taylor, CEO and founder, Thought Machine, comments: 'This partnership reflects a deep commitment to using cloud-native technology to build world-class financial products that drive economic growth. Supported by modern core technology, banks are empowered to create a future where financial services are accessible to individuals everywhere. We look forward to working with FINCA to build the future of financial services across the continent.' The platform's build will be led by Ikigai Digital, a certified Thought Machine delivery partner known for its deep technical expertise and successful track record implementing Vault Core. Ikigai Digital's team of subject-matter experts has hands-on experience in platform operations, migration, and integration architecture, ensuring high-quality, end-to-end implementation. Andy Farmer, CEO, Ikigai, comments: "Ikigai has formed a strategic partnership with FINCA to build and run a Microfinance Platform. Together, we are building a new business underpinned with cutting-edge technology that will provide huge flexibility for customers, driven by the shared mission to expand financial access in underserved markets and enhance the lives of millions of people." The '361 by FINCA' operating platform will also offer white-labelling capabilities, allowing other organisations to leverage Vault Core's engine to deliver customised financial services to their customers. This approach breaks down traditional barriers to access, enabling a broader ecosystem of providers to accelerate financial inclusion across the continent.
Edinburgh Reporter
07-05-2025
- Science
- Edinburgh Reporter
Napier University to be home of Scotland's Policing Academic Centre of Excellence
Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) will be the home of Scotland's only Policing Academic Centre of Excellence (P-ACE), building on its success of hosting the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR). The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) has announced that nine new P-ACEs will launch across the UK in October 2025, funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). As the host of SIPR, Edinburgh Napier will lead the Scottish P-ACE, with the collaboration of partner institutions Glasgow Caledonian University, the University of Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews. Backed by £4.5m in funding and working with police services across the UK, the Centres of Excellence will aim to ensure that policing is shaped by the latest and best scientific expertise, and that leading researchers are able to challenge and innovate in partnership with policing. The P-ACEs will support police with adopting new technologies, developing new tools and techniques, improving training and skills, and increasing public safety. The ENU-based centre will be entitled SPACE – the Scottish Policing Academic Centre for Excellence. The name also links its key research themes, each of which is critical to modern policing: safety, prevention, analytics, confidence and ethics. Today's announcement will allow SIPR to distribute £300k to support new research and knowledge exchange activity in Scotland over the next three years, in line with these key areas of research interest. Professor Liz Aston Professor of Criminology at Edinburgh Napier University, SPACE Lead and Director of SIPR, said: 'We are delighted to have been recognised as a Policing Academic Centre of Excellence. The collaborative nature of SIPR between its member institutions has made this achievement possible. 'Not only does this recognition cement SIPR's reputation, but it will also increase the reach of our work and help to drive innovation in policing. 'I'm really looking forward to leading SPACE from Edinburgh Napier University with the co-leads. By working with the NPCC and other partners in Scotland over the coming years, we will create evidence-based innovations to improve safety and prevent harm.' Professor Paul Taylor, Police Chief Scientific Adviser, said: 'Academia and policing have a long history of collaborative working on issues as diverse as forensic science, crime prevention, and analytical technologies. 'The P-ACEs will fortify this connection, providing a focal point for research and knowledge exchange. 'I'm particularly excited about what the P-ACEs can bring to early career scientists who are interested in tackling the complex challenge of keeping the UK public safe. The P-ACE community will, I hope, provide them more opportunities and greater support as we look to forge deep and lasting partnerships over the next decade.' Led by Professor Liz Aston and involving experts from across the SIPR member institutions, SPACE will work across three main themes: Safety, led by Dr Andrew Wooff, Edinburgh Napier University and co-lead for the SIPR Organisational Development Network. This builds on ENU's reputation for impactful policing research linked to safety, including the award-winning study into Police Scotland's use of naloxone. Prevention, led by Dr Sarah Marsden, University of St Andrews and Professor Lesley McMillan, Glasgow Caledonian University. Dr Marsden is Director of the Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, while Professor McMillan,a renowned expert on gender-based violence, is director of the Scottish Cold Case Unit at GCU. Analytics, led by Professor Susan McVie, University of Edinburgh, will work in partnership with Police Scotland and the Scottish Prevention Hub. This area will bring together a network of academics who will use data driven innovation and AI-based solutions to support operational practice and policy decision making. In addition, Confidence and Ethics will shape all of SPACE's academic work and builds on developments including the independent review of emerging technologies in policing. SIPR itself is a strategic collaboration between member universities, Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority. It has helped to forge strong links between policing and the academia, as recently shown in the ENU-hosted Neurodiversity and Policing conference. Like this: Like Related
New York Times
26-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Forest Q&A: How to win the tactical battle, who will play at right-back against Man City?
On Friday, we ran a live Q&A for subscribers ahead of Nottingham Forest's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on Sunday. Forest writers Paul Taylor and Nick Miller fielded questions on everything from who will play right-back at Wembley to where the team might for pre-season this summer. This is an edited version of their answers. Paul Taylor: There is an element of logic to holding him for that rescheduled league match on Thursday. Finishing in the Champions League places would have a huge impact on Forest. But this is an FA Cup semi-final. Can you imagine what winning the FA Cup would potentially do for the club? People would remember it for many, many years to come. It would be written into the club's history. The club would have to paint a fresh achievement onto the City Ground stands for the first time in many years. Maybe I am just an old-fashioned (or just old) traditionalist, but if he is anything close to fit on Sunday, I'd ask Aina to play. I'm guessing that he would very much want to as well. Taylor: This is the one area where Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo definitely has a few stock phrases. If I had 50p for every time he said Forest were 'assessing' an injury situation on a 'day by day' basis, I would have, well, about a tenner. But he was sticking to that line on Friday when asked about Aina. Advertisement 'We are assessing players day by day and players coming back,' he said in his press conference, when asked about Aina specifically. 'There's still tomorrow to go. (Fellow full-back Alex) Moreno the same, and players who have had issues from previous games.' I have been told elsewhere that Aina has a chance of being involved (which is something Nuno also echoed), but their options otherwise are not vastly significant, with Neco Williams suspended and Eric Moreira recovering from an injury of his own. I believe Moreira has a decent chance of being fit, but it is going to be a headache for Nuno, one way or another. It feels as though having Harry Toffolo at left-back and Moreira or Moreno at right-back is the most likely option. Maybe there is a world in which Forest change to a back three during the match, which is something they often do. That might be a way of giving at least one of the full-backs a rest later in the game. You could have Milenkovic, Murillo and Morato as a trio, with Toffolo as a left wing-back and somebody like Nico Dominguez as a right wing-back, potentially. That would be one way of solving the problem. (As part of 'The Red Thread' initiative, featured on UK TV's Sky Sports News, club chairman Evangelos Marinakis donated 1,000 Forest replica kits to schoolchildren across Nottinghamshire. Forest players Ryan Yates, Neco Williams and Zach Abbott, as well as women's first-team counterparts Sophie Haywood and Millie Chandarana, attended St. Ann's Well Academy and Nottingham Primary Academy, as part of a press event, to hand them out). Taylor: Do you know what, I was doing my best to try to stay out of shot all the time. I thought I had done a pretty decent job of it as well. There was even quite a nimble (by my standards) dart behind the clutch of cameras when the players came into the hall. Hopefully, the players don't lose their focus on Sunday in the same way I did. It is a lovely gesture from the club, and a clever way of hopefully ensuring the next generation of fans in the area continue to follow Forest. But the team are doing a pretty good job of that themselves on the pitch, aren't they? All of a sudden, young Forest fans can wear the Garibaldi red with a real sense of pride on the playground again, among those who support Manchester City, United or Liverpool. I think the players get how important it is as well. I spoke to Williams about it all (when I was avoiding being on camera). He said: 'It is lovely. You do not realise the impact you can have on these kids' lives. You can see their pure excitement, the smiles on their faces. That means the world to us. Advertisement 'They are all running around with their shirts on, and fair play to the owner for donating them, so that they can have fresh kits for their PE lessons and football matches. It is really nice to come here, and it is the little things, having a kickabout with them, having pictures taken with them, signing stuff for them. It is such a nice feeling.' Nick Miller: According to invaluable stats website Toffolo has played precisely one game at right-back before — for Doncaster Rovers away against Charlton Athletic, in League One, in October 2017. He was hooked after an hour and Doncaster lost 1-0, so maybe let's not read too much into that one. Taylor: Would you take the semi-final going to penalties if you were offered that right now? I'm not sure my nerves would take it, but I do think Forest have a group of players who are remarkably good at taking them. Their calmness and accuracy in the shootouts so far have been absolutely brilliant (Forest have won their last three FA Cup ties on penalties). Only a fool would bet against Forest if it does go to spot kicks again. With Yates and Williams suspended, there is room for somebody else to step up. If Sels is as good at taking penalties as he is at reading which direction the opposing players are going to put theirs, maybe he can be a hero in more than one sense… Miller: The tactics are going to be fascinating. In the league win against City last month, Nuno played a sort of 4-4-2/lopsided 4-3-3, with Dominguez on the right to double up on City's left. Maybe in an ideal world, he would've wanted to do something like that again, but it could be more of an issue with the right-back problems. A 3-5-2 with Dominguez at right wing-back might be an option, but that didn't go brilliantly against Aston Villa a few weeks ago, so I wonder if that will have spooked Nuno. My guess is only one of Hudson-Odoi and Elanga will start; probably the latter. The classic game plan of scoring early(ish) and then closing it out is also scuppered a bit with Yates out, given how key he is when coming on as a sub. Taylor: In terms of a pre-season training camp, there is a suggestion Nuno would like the team to go somewhere slightly cooler this summer. The club have been pleased with the facilities on recent training camps in Spain, but the weather has been a little bit warm for putting in properly-serious work. I suspect they may end up somewhere like Austria or Germany, where it might not be quite so hot. There is also the prospect of the usual link-up with (Marinakis-owned Greek side) Olympiacos at some point, I am sure. (Top photo of Harry Toffolo: Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)
New York Times
25-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Forest Q&A: Team news, preview ahead of FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City
April 25, 2025 at 9:30 AM EDT On Sunday, Nottingham Forest will play in their first FA Cup semi-final since 1991, when they take on Manchester City at Wembley Stadium. Nuno Espirito Santo's side have already enjoyed their most successful season in decades, having climbed to fourth place in the Premier League table. The Forest boss has just faced the media ahead of the game, which will see his team go up against a City side that has reached the last two FA Cup finals, both against Manchester United, losing last year but winning in 2023. With Neco Williams and Ryan Yates suspended, he will hope to have Ola Aina fit following his recent calf problem. And The Athletic's Paul Taylor and Nick Miller will be here to answer all of your questions on the big game — and anything else Forest related — from around 2.30pm. Paul Taylor and Nick Miller April 25, 2025 9:00 am EDT
