IBFIM Signs MoAs, MoUs With 10 Academic Partners

KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 (Bernama) -- The Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia (IBFIM) has signed memorandum of agreements and understandings (MoAs and MoUs) with 10 academic partners to develop market-ready talents in the Islamic finance industry. Following the signings, IBFIM Chief Executive Officer Yusry Yusoff said its Certified Qualification in Islamic Finance (CQIF) module would be embedded in these higher learning institutions' programmes. "The economic costs of failure to address talent shortage is huge and the Islamic finance industry needs constant supply of talents to achieve its potential," he told reporters after the exchange of documents here Tuesday. The ten academic partners are Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Sultan Azlan Shah, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, INTEC Education College, Kolej Yayasan Pelajaran Johor, Kolej Universiti Insaniah and Kolej Universiti Islam Selangor. Moving forward, Yusri said there would be another 12 signings in the pipeline, which were all in various stage of finalisation. Islamic finance is a growing industry and offered massive opportunities locally and regionally. However, the issue of talent shortage remained a challenge. IBFIM's modules have successfully registered 25,000 take ups since 2008, with 2,000 being international participants. He also stressed the importance of collaboration between the industry and higher learning institutions in developing a talent pool that is market-ready, especially with the constantly changing trends and business environment. "As strategic human capital developers, we need to be constantly aware of trends that will shape our future, one such trend is financial technology (fintech). "The Islamic finance industry requires talents that masters fintech and takes advantage of the benefits it brings and be proactive in providing technology-driven programmes," he added. -- BERNAMA