INCEIF closer to getting AACSB accreditation: Zeti

The Global University of Islamic Finance (INCEIF) is getting closer to obtaining the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation as it continues to fulfil and implement various eligibility conditions.

Its Chancellor, Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said the accreditation is very important and INCEIF is working towards achieving it.

"Insya-Allah (God willing), we will get it in the near future," she said.

The central bank governor said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) would continue to give INCEIF all the support so that the university has the foundation to achieve it.

"We will give every effort to work the hardest we can to fulfil the entire requirements," she said to Bernama here Saturday at the Sixth Convocation of INCEIF which welcomed 211 graduates from the university's postgraduate programmes.

Earlier, INCEIF President and Chief Executive Officer, Daud Vicary Abdullah, in his speech said AACSB accreditation was important to INCEIF as it would reflect the university's efforts in driving towards establishing benchmarks of the highest global standards.

AACSB is the most renowned accreditation association of business schools and includes the likes of Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management as accredited members.

"We implemented various eligibility conditions. Our standard alignment plan (SAP) was accepted on August 5 recently. INCEIF is getting closer to obtaining the accreditation," he said.

At the convocation, graduates from the 31 countries received their scrolls from Zeti.

Six obtained the Doctor of Philosophy in Islamic Finance, 33 got Masters in Islamic Finance (MIF), three received Master of Science in Islamic Finance (MSc IF), 45 in Master of Islamic Finance Practice (MIFP) and 124 in Chartered Islamic Finance Professional (CIFP).

INCEIF was set up by BNM in 2005 to develop human capital for the global Islamic finance industry.

"We are very pleased as it has realised our vision for INCEIF, that it is a global university.

"We knew once you have the globalisation of Islamic finance, they will draw on Malaysian talent. And therefore we need to be a supplier of talent to the rest of the world," Zeti said.

She said the fact that more than 80 countries have sent their students to study at INCEIF, including several from Muslim-minority countries such as from Japan and South Korea, it really demonstrated the growing interest to get expertise in this field.

Moving forward, she said INCEIF would continue to build up its capability including to provide online education with the highest level of technology.

INCEIF is also giving out executive education, Zeti said, for example, high level executive course for senior management in financial institutions who want to learn something about Islamic finance.

Meanwhile, Daud Vicary said INCEIF is now a top global contributor to the Islamic finance research reports.

He cited the latest Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Development Report that indicated that 11 per cent of global Islamic finance research output was from INCEIF and its International Shariah Research Academy.