New UH Hilo finance professor focuses on teaching data-driven decision-making and financial technology
“For graduates, understanding how AI can support financial decision-making is becoming an essential skill.” —Assistant Professor of Finance Wei Wei.
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
A new faculty member at University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo business college believes finance education plays a key role in strengthening Hawaiʻi’s workforce.
“Many local businesses, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs need people who can make informed financial decisions — whether in budgeting, investing, or managing risk,” says Wei Wei, assistant professor of finance at the UH Hilo College of Business and Economics. “My goal in teaching is to equip students with practical financial skills that they can apply in the local economy. I also emphasize ethical and sustainable decision-making, which aligns closely with Hawaiʻi’s community values.”
Wei received her master of business in finance from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, and her doctoral degree in finance from University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is a certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) and pursued the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program, strengthening her expertise in risk management and investments.
Before coming to UH Hilo this year, she was a lecturer at UNC’s Charlotte Belk College of Business. Now at UH Hilo, Wei appreciates the university’s unique setting that allows her to connect business education with the cultural and social context of Hawaiʻi.
Teaching: One area of Wei’s focus is on increasing the exposure students have to data-driven decision-making and financial technology.
As a professor, Professor Wei sees herself as both a teacher and a mentor. While sparking students’ interest in finance, she helps them connect theory to practice through supporting experiential learning opportunities such as internships.
“In my courses, I encourage students to think critically and connect what they learn to Hawaiʻi’s real-world challenges, such as sustainable business development and financial inclusion,” says Wei. “My certifications as a CFA and FRM help me bring an applied perspective to the classroom so that students see how theory meets practice.”
The goal is not only to prepare students with technical knowledge but also to give them confidence and skills that will serve them in their future careers. One area of Wei’s focus is on increasing the exposure students have to data-driven decision-making and financial technology.
“I try to bridge this by introducing real-world tools and analytics used in the finance industry today,” she says. “By combining finance fundamentals with technology, students gain both the conceptual understanding and the technical ability to compete for jobs statewide and beyond.”
Note: Employers increasingly look for people who can interpret data, work with analytical tools such as AI, and use technology responsibly.
Wei’s research focuses on corporate finance, financial accounting, and the use of artificial intelligence in the world of finance. She is especially interested in how markets process information and how large language models, LLMs, can detect fraud and predict market reactions.
Currently, she is researching the application of AI and machine learning to financial analysis — “specifically, improving how we detect risks and extract insights from complex financial data,” she says.
She’d like to inspire her students to also pursue this line of inquiry.
“This type of work helps automate routine analysis while enhancing accuracy and transparency,” she says. “For graduates, understanding how AI can support financial decision-making is becoming an essential skill. Employers increasingly look for people who can interpret data, work with analytical tools, and use technology responsibly.” Wei says this includes those in finance having a strong sense of ethics and social justice, values she instills in her students.
Fundamentally, through learning and scientific inquiry in both the classroom and through internships, Wei hopes her students will develop the essential skills of critical thinking, resilience, and ethical awareness — along with the belief that they can master complex topics and use financial knowledge to make a positive difference in their communities.
For more on Assistant Professor Wei, see Faculty Spotlight at the business college news website.
Story by Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
