600 drawn to INCEIF within a year

By B.K. SIDHU

LAST week marked INCEIF’s (International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance) first year in existence and in one year, the institution has attracted over 600 applicants from 37 countries for its flagship programme.  

The Certified Islamic Finance Professional (CIFP) is its flagship programme that offers a holistic and comprehensive approach to Islamic banking and finance and takaful. This certification is not offered anywhere else in the world but has global recognition. 

INCEIF was created to cater to the growing needs for talent in the global Islamic banking and finance industry. Mooted by Bank Negara, the centre now has been accorded university status. It will offer 10 seats for postgraduate and doctorate degrees in Islamic banking and finance, apart from the CIFP programme. 

”Universities are where ideas are born and it is the industry that commercialises those ideas and therefore the collaboration between the industry and academia is vital.  

“The university is the knowledge leader and industry that commercialises the findings and that is what is happening in the West,’’ INCEIF president and CEO Agil Natt said.  

Agil, who has many years of experience in the banking industry, was formerly from Maybank but joined INCEIF in July 2006. 

With the CIPF programme , he remains hopeful there would be critical thinkers and innovators who would be able to lead the way in product innovation. For now many of the products available “mirror” that of the commercial banking sector. 

Turning to the CIFP, he said the first batch of 39 students of the CIFP programme had sat for the inaugural Part 1 examinations in December 2006. Most of the current 600 over CIFP students pursuing the programme on a part-time basis have a minimum of 18 months to a maximum of 6½ years to complete it. 

This June, the first batch of the CIFP Bright Scholarship students will start their full- time studies.  

INCEIF can become a world-class educational institution that produces researchers and knowledge leaders in the global Islamic banking, finance and takaful sector

INCEIF is working closely with many central banks and universities globally to offer an avenue for people to be trained at INCEIF or have partnerships where lecturers from INCEIF can conduct lessons in the respective countries.  

By doing so INCEIF would become a world-class educational institution that produces researchers and knowledge leaders in the ever-robust global Islamic banking, finance and takaful sector. 

To-date, the central banks and a number of the financial institutions in Indonesia and Pakistan have formalised ties with INCEIF and its team is sourcing for greater linkages with many countries. 

It may be still early for INCEIF, but Agil said “we are taking little steps now and would be making giant strides in the year.”  

“Cambridge and Harvard were not founded overnight, it took them a long time to be where they are today.  

“A hundred years is a long time and we are just a year old. If we can address 15%-20% of the talent requirement the industry needs, we would have achieved something,’’ he added. 

There may be no stopping any country to emulate the workings of INCEIF, but the fact remains that this institution has done so much groundwork and it would take a lot for a competitor to catch up. 

“We are heads and shoulders above the rest,’’ Agil said, adding that, “a lot more needed to be done for future sustainability of talent and research in the sector.’’ 

INCEIF was set up from a RM500mil endowment fund from Bank Negara.