The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) signed an MoU with the University of Sharjah (UoS) to develop and improve competencies in the field of Islamic finance and the financial services industry and to put together plans to pursue the joint development of the Islamic finance-related educational programs in capital markets. The MoU was signed by H.E. Dr. Obaid Al Zaabi, CEO of SCA, and H.E. Dr. Humaid Majol Al Nuaimi, Chancellor of the UoS.
Following the signing of the MoU, Dr. Al Zaabi expressed his pride in the leadership role that the UoS has assumed and the distinguished academic status it has attained among higher education institutions at the local, regional, and international levels.
Dr. Al Zaabi indicated that the signing of the MoU paves the way for the establishment of a framework that enables the development of competencies in the field of Islamic finance and the financial services industry in the country in light of the mutual desire of both parties to put together plans to pursue the joint development of the educational programs relevant to the scope of the MoU, thus promoting and developing the professional standards for people working in the securities sector and enhancing the awareness of customers, investors, and interested parties in general.
Dr. Al Zaabi said that under the MoU, experts and academic and technical personnel from both parties will gather to develop curricula and educational programs on investing in Islamic financial products and instruments in capital markets and the financial services industry. The parties will cooperate in organizing professional training courses and programs in the field of Islamic finance and the financial services industry to raise the levels of professionalism and increase awareness about the financial products and instruments traded on financial markets.
For his part, Dr. Al Nuaimi stressed that cooperation between SCA and the UoS, especially in the economics and business administration fields, will contribute greatly to the creation of multiple training opportunities to business administration majors in particular, and the UoS students in general, indicating that the UoS has become one of the largest UAE-based universities in terms of the great number and variety of the academic programs offered thanks to the support of H.H. Dr. Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and President of the UoS. He said that most of these programs are only offered by the UoS and that they satisfy the needs of the labor market locally and regionally.
The signing took place in the presence of Prof. Sherif Sedki, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs; Dr. Salah Taher Al Haj, Vice Chancellor of Community Affairs; Prof. Dima Jamali, Dean of the Business Administration College; and Dr. Ibrahim Al Mansoori, Director of the Sharjah Islamic Center for Economy and Finance Studies at the UoS. Also present from SCA were Mohammed Al Noukhatha, Head of the International Relations and Organizations Section, and Abdulaziz Al Tenaiji, Head of the Government Communication and Customer Happiness Section.
According to the MoU, the two parties will cooperate in the areas of training, awareness, and the exchange of knowledge and experiences in the field of Islamic finance and the financial services industry, in addition to the development of educational programs on investing in Islamic financial products and instruments as well as professional training programs on Islamic finance and the financial services industry. All of this is aimed at raising the levels of professionalism; increasing awareness about the financial products and instruments traded in financial markets; benefiting from the shared information and statistics and the joint training and vocational programs, activities, events, and conferences organized by each party.