(from left to right): Professor Lee Chew Ging, Dean of NUBS Malaysia; Dr. Nafis Alam; Baroness Sayeeda Warsi; Professor Christine Ennew; Professor Ong Fon Sim, Professor of Marketing, NUBS (Malaysia) and Professor Graham Kendall, Vice Provost (Research & Knowledge Transfer
A brand new Centre for Islamic Business and Finance Research (CIBFR) has been established at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. The new unit which will provide research and consultancy services to organisations worldwide, takes an integrated approach, dealing with both finance and with a range of other Syariah compatible products and services worth USD 2 billion (RM6.52 billion) annually to a market of over 1 billion people globally.
CIBFR is a dedicated research centre within The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. Located within the University’s prestigious Business School it brings together researchers across a range of disciplines who share an interest in understanding, analysing and developing Islamic perspectives of finance, management, marketing and tourism.
The University of Nottingham’s Centre for Islamic Business and Finance Research (CIBFR) was launched by on April 22 at Financial Services Reception hosted by the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.
“Our vision to run this centre in Malaysia aligns well with Malaysia’s vision to become a world leader in Islamic Banking and Finance. As a global university we are particularly well placed to bridge across boundaries, to host international researchers, and we will exploit our history of excellence in teaching and learning to develop innovative programmes in Islamic finance and Islamic business,” Professor Christine Ennew, CEO/Provost of UNMC said.
According to Dr. Nafis Alam, Centre Director and Research Director of Accounting, Finance & Law at UNMC’s Nottingham University Business School, “The new CIBFR will leverage on experienced staff at Nottingham and international collaborations to consolidate its position as a specialised research centre that deals with the contemporary issues of Syariah-Compliant businesses and consumers.”
CIBFR in collaboration with The Centre for Risk, Banking and Financial Services (CRBFS) of the University of Nottingham, UK and Centre for Global Finance (GFC) and the International Finance Research Centre (IFRC) at University of Nottingham Ningbo China will conduct multinational research to cater for the development of Islamic business in Europe and China.
Islamic finance within the region and globally is making strides. According to Malaysia’s Financial Sector Blueprint 2011-20 up to 56,000 new finance industry positions will be needed in the next 10 years; including up to 40,000 Islamic finance industry jobs.
“The importance of Islamic finance was highlighted by the British PM when he mentioned its role in his opening speech at World Islamic Economic Forum. He emphasised that “I don’t just want London to be a great capital of Islamic finance in the Western world. I want London to stand alongside Dubai and Kuala Lumpur as one of the great capitals of Islamic finance anywhere in the world,” Dr. Nafis explains.
Islamic Finance at UNMC
UNMC is already making inroads in the development of Islamic finance education by launching MSc Investment and Islamic Finance degree in 2013. The MSc Investment and Islamic Finance programme is developed keeping employer requirements and industry norms in perspective.
The MSc Investment and Islamic Finance provide and examine insights into different aspects of the Islamic financial environment, and focus on advanced developments in Islamic finance and conventional finance.
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More information is available from Dr. Nafis Alam on +60(3) 8924 8279, [email protected] or Josephine Dionisappu, PR & Communications Manager on + 6 (03) 8924 8746, [email protected].
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham |has 42,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with campuses in China and Malaysia modelled on a headquarters that is among the most attractive in Britain’ (Times Good University Guide 2014). It is also one of the most popular universities among graduate employers, one of the world’s greenest universities, and winner of the Times Higher Education Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development’. It is ranked in the World’s Top 75 universities by the QS World University Rankings.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise. The University aims to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health. The University won a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for its research into global food security.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest ever fundraising campaign, will deliver the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future.
