Emirates Institute of Banking and Financial Studies Launches Fintech Training Lab to Develop Talent to Meet Future Industry Needs

Emirates Institute of Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS), a regional leader in banking and finance education and training, in association with leading UAE banks and insurance companies, has launched the EIBFS Fintech Training Lab seeking to enhance access to skills training in the latest digital technologies revolutionizing the financial sector, such as Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, Big Data, Cloud, Application Program Interface and Digital Governance. 

Marking the launch, the Institute recently hosted the first Fintech Training Lab meeting with the banking, insurance and technology experts to understand the future needs of their industries. The agenda specifically underlined the development of talent that can integrate and apply the rapidly evolving technologies to identify and resolve business challenges in the functional domains of operations, investment, credit, compliance, Islamic banking, and risk.

Speaking on the latest addition to the training program, Jamal Al Jasmi, General Manager of EIBFS, said: “The global banking and financial industry is undergoing massive transformation, given the disruptive changes arising from the financial technology domain. The skill sets required for finance professionals is changing as we speak. While the priority in the past was to develop functional skill sets in the various domains of banking, the new trend is to ensure the application of technology to functional skills, referred to as the techno-functional skills.

“As the premier banking and finance training institution in the UAE, EIBFS is keen to proactively contribute to the industry by developing talent for the digital era. This assumes even greater significance as Dubai, through its Dubai Future Accelerators initiative, and the wider UAE continue to actively promote Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and several other emergent technologies that are already impacting the way we handle our financial and complementary transactions. Our role, therefore, is to be at the forefront of creating training programs and modules that empower the workforce of tomorrow to tackle the exciting future in the banking and finance domain.”

The attendees from the various financial instituitiions included James Greenwood, COO, Commercial Bank International; Gorkem Cokcetin, Vice President, Fintech Engagement, Emirates NBD; Saleem Ahmed, Senior Vice President and Head of IT, Sharjah Islamic Bank; Anshul Srivastav, CIO, Union Insurance; Tarun Gugnani, Regional Head, Edgeverve; Fiby Francis, Assistant Vice President, Union National Bank; and Praveen Joseph, a Fintech consultant.

The EIBFS Fintech Training Lab has planned its first training module as part of the Annual Training Plan in 2019. The modules will be supplemented by a series of conferences on Blockchain, Big Data, Cybersecurity and Cryptocurrencies. The Lab also plans to offer fintech courses via e-learning.