Dubai International Academic City and Dubai Knowledge Village officials visit Malaysia to leverage on their expertise in Islamic Finance
Dubai, UAE: A delegation from TECOM Investments, led by Dr Ayoub Kazim, Managing Director of Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV) and Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), visited Malaysia to meet with representatives of various Islamic finance academic institutions in order to look into having them set up in Dubai. This step comes in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the global capital of the Islamic Economy.
During their visit, the delegation looked into the academic programmes and courses supporting the various sectors of the Islamic Economics, such as Islamic finance, Sharia-compliant funds, Sukuk, Murabaha and laws, as well as the regulatory frameworks related to Islamic finance. The delegation's visit included various Malaysia-based research centres and universities specializing in Islamic finance, including the International Islamic University Malaysia and The Global University of Islamic Finance (INCEIF), who are globally known for their Islamic finance programs that the delegation is aiming to bring to DIAC.
The visit also aimed to attract established governmental professional development centers, such as the Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia (IBFIM), to DKV. Moreover, leads were established in the field of Islamic finance research and development, covering institutions like the Kuwait Finance House, with discussions covering methods to support the industry in Dubai and the wider UAE. This visit also covered the Labuan International Business and Finance Centre (Labuan IBFC Inc), whose current research efforts focus on Islamic Wealth Management and who expressed interest in establishing a branch of their research center in Dubai.
The delegation was seeking ways to link between Malaysian academic and training providers with the current existing partners in DKV and DIAC, in order to support with their well-established programs in Islamic finance and economy. They focused on learning from best practices and attracting experts and talents to training centers and academic institutions within DIAC and DKV, and the UAE in general.
Commenting on the visit, Dr Ayoub Kazim said:
"Demand for skilled talent in the field of Islamic Finance has never been higher. As a home for the region's education and training institutes, we have an important role to play in enhancing our educational offerings. This is through bringing academic institutions and research centres that tailor their programmes to meet the industry demands. Our trip to Malaysia represents our continuous strive to attract relevant academic institutions that can provide quality education across all levels, covering graduate, undergraduate, and vocational training courses.
"Our decision to go to Malaysia was based on its leading reputation and expertise in the Islamic finance sector. We exchanged best practices and expertise during our visit, and discussed ways that enable us to identify the current and future needs of the Islamic finance industry to ensure the continued growth and success of the sector in the UAE. We are looking forward to further strengthening our cooperation with Malaysian academic institutions".
The trip to Malaysia came in light of the finance sector findings of the Workforce Planning Study, launched by DIAC and commissioned to Deloitte, which identified some of the major themes and skills gaps within the fast-growing Islamic finance sector. The study revealed that dedicated Islamic banking skills are in high demand from GCC banks, particularly at the entry level, closely followed by financial risk management and customer segmentation and analytics skills.
Dr Ayoub added: "We will continue to support the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum to create a sustainable knowledge-based economy and to transform Dubai into a centre for Islamic Finance".
-Ends-
For further details please contact:
Dina Samhout, Bell Pottinger: +971 55 5597394
Brendan Vyner, Brand Manager, TECOM Investments Education Cluster: +971 4 360 2960
About Dubai Knowledge Village
Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV) is a premier destination in the region dedicated to Vocational Training, Human Resource Management, Executive Search and Professional Development. DKV was established in 2003, as a member of TECOM Investments, to support the Government of Dubai's vision to transform Dubai into a knowledge-based economy and develop the region's talent pool.
DKV is home to over 450 business partners including SHRM, Eton Institute, City & Guild, SHL, Gallup, Towers Watson, Stafford Associates, Hays and Hewitt and Innovative HR Solutions. DKV is working towards establishing itself as a centre of excellence for training and skills development by providing a wide variety of respected qualifications and increasing access to them.
With the provision of quality training institutes and recruitment consultancy firms, DKV is helping to meet the needs of business by offering required training and skills development programs to professionals and by providing a home of recruiters who will then match these new skills with employers.
About Dubai International Academic City
Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) is the world's largest Free Zone dedicated to Higher Education. Established in 2007, as part of TECOM Investments - a member of Dubai Holding - DIAC aims to develop the region's talent pool and help establish the UAE as a knowledge-based economy through the provision of multi-tiered academic institutions that are internationally accredited.
DIAC is located on a fully-appointed 18 million sq ft. campus with state-of-the-art facilities. It is home to 21 of the UAE's 37 International Branch Campuses from 10 countries. Universities include Amity University, Heriott Watt University, Michigan State University, University of Wollongong, BITS Pilani, Hult International Business School, Murdoch University and Manchester Business School, to name a few.
DIAC provides more than 400 certificate, diploma, undergraduate, post graduate and PHD programmes to over 20,000 students of 125 nationalities.
© Press Release 2014
