Risk Academy, a Nexortium programmeRisk Science and MethodsDepartment of Risk Management

Models that are wrong or misused, and the controls that manage them

Model risk and validation

A model is a decision tool with an error term, and model risk is what happens when the error is ignored.

risksacademy.comrisk-sciencediscipline

Model risk and validation, drawn as uncertainty bands: 0 primary courses open, 1 in preparation, 0 approved for authoring and 2 also taught here, across 8 subtopics. Courses: RAT-217 L3 in preparation, RAT-207 L2 also taught here, RAT-215 L3 also taught here.L1L2L3L420
Model risk and validation at a glance. Drawn as uncertainty bands.
  • Open, 0
  • In preparation, 1
  • Also taught here, 2
  • Subtopics, 8
Course codes from the curriculum; study levels L1 to L4.
Twin builder and simulatorThe central Apennines: L'Aquila, Amatrice and Norcia4 twin generators, 8 layers, 4 instruments
courses open now
0
in preparation
1
subtopics in its scope
8
reference earthquakes, M6.2 to M6.6
3

Twin figures for the central Apennines: L'Aquila, Amatrice and Norcia, counted from its layers at their stated dates.

Twin builder and simulator.

For Model risk and validation: the faculty's twin of L'Aquila on the planet map, the globe and in 3D. Pick a generator, switch layers, run the instruments; every layer prints its provider and date.

The central Apennines: L'Aquila, Amatrice and Norcia: a flat plan of the faculty twin. Terrain 24 to 2,805 m; 3 reference earthquakes, M6.2 to M6.6; Earthquakes M4.5 and above, past week (live): live, loads in the twin; USGS ShakeMap intensity contours: live, loads in the twin. Contours every 500 metres from the elevation grid; reference earthquakes as marks.
The central Apennines: L'Aquila, Amatrice and Norcia, Italy. Flat plan of the same data: relief, the three reference epicentres with magnitude and depth, and the numbers below; the sampler's figure shows one precomputed field with its parameters. The 3D twin opens on devices with WebGL once its data and library have been checked.
  • Terrain 24 to 2,805 m
  • 3 reference earthquakes, M6.2 to M6.6
  • Earthquakes M4.5 and above, past week (live): live, loads in the twin
  • USGS ShakeMap intensity contours: live, loads in the twin
Credits and dates per layer are listed under the stage. Relief in the twin is exaggerated ×1.5 for legibility.

Drag to move, right drag or Shift with a drag to turn and tilt, Ctrl with the wheel to zoom. Keyboard: arrows move, Shift with arrows turn and tilt, + and - zoom, 0 resets, V steps through the views, Escape clears.

Flat plan of the same data: relief, the three reference epicentres with magnitude and depth, and the numbers below; the sampler's figure shows one precomputed field with its parameters. The 3D twin opens on devices with WebGL once its data and library have been checked.

The map loads from this site as it nears the view (MapLibre 6.9.1, checked by hash).

The discipline in brief.

The discipline teaches model risk governance under SR 11-7 (2011) and the PRA's SS1/23, in effect since 17 May 2024, model inventories, independent validation and back-testing, monitoring and drift, explainability and fairness, third-party and generative AI models under ISO/IEC 42001:2023 and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and human-in-the-loop controls, with the twin's Gutenberg-Richter fit, its standard error and its sample-size refusal as the first validation exercise. A graduate can inventory a model, validate it against what happened and write the finding that limits its use.

This area covers the risk that decisions rest on models that are wrong or misused, and the controls that manage it: model inventories and governance, validation and back-testing, monitoring and drift, explainability and fairness, third-party and generative AI models, and human-in-the-loop controls. It is taught in the department of Risk Management, Faculty of Risk Science and Methods, through 1 course with it as primary discipline and 2 more that also teach it.

What the discipline covers.

8 subtopics, taught across its courses and labs.

Courses
0 open, 1 in preparation
Levels
L3 Advanced
Labs
Named when the courses are authored
  • Model risk governance
  • Model validation
  • Model monitoring and drift
  • Explainability and fairness
  • Third-party models
  • Generative AI in finance
  • Human-in-the-loop controls
  • Model inventories

What is changing now.

Recent developments in model risk and validation, each with its source; sources checked on 16 October 2026. Summaries are short readings of the source; follow the link for the full account.

The faculty hub.

News and research as they are published, per discipline, with the faculty's other tools.

The newest research, preprints, news and humanitarian reports for Model risk and validation, each with its source and date, load here. Open the research and news hub

The methods it teaches.

From the Academy's risk taxonomy: the discipline's own entries and those of its primary courses, with how many courses teach each.

Methods and practice

  1. Uncertainty and confidence1 course

Hazard families

  1. AI and algorithmic failure1 course

1 in preparation.

No course with this primary discipline is open yet; these are planned, so you can prepare with the courses also taught here.

Courses with this primary discipline0 open, 1 in preparation

  1. RAT-217Model Risk Management and ValidationIn preparationTechnical, L3 Advanced, 10 hours (estimate)

Courses from other disciplines.

These courses count in their own primary discipline and also teach this one; they do not count towards its achievement as primary courses.

Also taught here2 courses that count in another discipline

  1. RAT-207Quantitative Risk ModellingIn preparationTechnical, L2 Intermediate, 12 hours (estimate), primary in Quantitative risk analysis and statistics
  2. RAT-215Credit Risk ModellingIn preparationTechnical, L3 Advanced, 12 hours (estimate), primary in Banking and credit risk

What you can earn here.

Pathways that teach it.

Where the subject is worked on.

  • The Global Risks Alliance (GRA)AI and Financial Model RiskCredit and pricing models, Explainability and fairness, Generative AI in finance, Human in the loop controls, Model monitoring and drift, Model risk governance, Stress and scenario models, Third party models

Cited as places where the subject is practised; the institutions named are sources here, and Risk Academy hosts every course.

The three Foundry systems where it is practised.

  • Nexus FoundryNEXQ systemFitness of models for a taskCompetence room
  • Labs systemModel comparisonBenchmarks room
  • GRIx systemValidation studies behind risk productsReports room

Nexus Foundry system pages describe what each system and its rooms are designed to do; they are not a service on offer, and studying here gives no access to them.

Terms used on this page.

Model risk and validation

Prepare with a related course.

Open courses in connected disciplines teach the methods this discipline will build on.

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