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Posted
on 12 Nov 09: The India-based International
Institute of Islamic Business and Finance (IIIBF)
has entered into a long-term partnership with
Trisakti University, Indonesia that
includes mutual recognition of each other’s
education programs, development of new courses in
emerging areas, such as, Islamic microfinance and
Islamic non-profits and charities. According to
Dr Mohammed Obaidullah, a Senior Economist with
the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank and the
founder of IIIBF, “The partnership should
provide a tremendous boost to research and human
resource development for the growing number of
Islamic microfinance and poverty alleviation
projects across the globe. IIIBF would now
offer MA and PhD degrees in Islamic Economics in
India, to be awarded by Trisakti. The degree
programs would naturally focus on bringing into the
class room the best practices of Islamic
microfinance from the innumerable experiments being
undertaken across Indonesia and encourage their
replication in India.”
IIIBF, sponsored by IBF Net (Islamic
Business and Finance Network) has been a pioneer
in offering professional certification programs in
the field of Islamic banking, insurance and
investments since 1999. Similarly, Trisakti, the
largest private university in Indonesia has been a
pioneer in Islamic economics and finance education
in Indonesia. “The mutual recognition of
certification programs should enhance the confidence
of education seekers faced with the problem of
choosing the right diploma or the right degree in
Islamic finance to further their career
opportunities”, according to Dr Ausaf Ahmad, a
renowned scholar of Islamic economics and President,
IIIBF. “The partnership would also provide a
fillip to the growth of the nascent Islamic finance
sector in India by preparing professionals to take
up managerial positions”, he says.
IIIBF and Trisakti have ambitious plans for the
future that includes launching a joint website for
Islamic microfinance and development (www.imad.in)
and the first ever research journal in Islamic
microfinance. According to Dr Sofyan Syafri
Harahap, Director of the Trisakti Program in Islamic
Economics, “Indonesia and India have the largest
and the second largest Muslim population in the
world and also account for a large proportion of the
global poor and the excluded.” “Ours is a marriage
that makes enormous social as well as commercial
sense”, he says.
IBF Net (www.iiibf.com)
is a global network of students, researchers,
bankers and finance professionals interested in
Islamic business and finance. Currently IBF Net has
over 6000 members. IBF Net as an online global
community has been in existence for over a decade
now. As an organization it was incorporated in India
in the year 1999. Among other things, IBF Net has
sponsored the International Institute of Islamic
Business and Finance (IIIBF) to undertake education,
training, research and publication in the area. IBF
Net regularly conducts seminars, workshops and
training programs.
(Trisakti
University is the largest private university in
Indonesia. Founded in 1965, the university now has
30,000 students.)
Shafeeq-ur-Rahman
Convener
IBF Net, India |
