INCEIF Becomes a Premier Educational Institution for Islamic Finance

INCEIF becomes a premier educational institution of Islamic finance globally. The 12th Convocation of INCEIF recently witnessed the graduation of Class 2020 (135 graduates) and Class 2021 (160 graduates) with a total of 295 graduates from 41 countries including Côte d’Ivoire, Russia, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Uzbekistan, Taiwan, and United Kingdom. The top five nationalities are Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Bangladesh. This takes the number of INCEIF global alumni to a total of 2166 as of 18 December 2021.

Of the 297 graduates who received their scrolls from INCEIF Chancellor, Tan Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, 18 received their Ph.D.in Islamic Finance; 135 – Masters in Islamic Finance Practice; 42 – MSc in Islamic Finance; and 32 – Chartered Islamic Finance Professional. Joining them were 61 recipients of the Professional Certificate in Islamic Finance and 7 recipients of the Executive Masters of Islamic Finance. The diversity of INCEIF graduates affirms the university’s role in developing world-class talent for the global Islamic financial services industry and reinforces Malaysia’s position as the global hub for the industry. Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, who is the Chairman of INCEIF Board of Directors, and Dr. Rozali Mohamed Ali, Pro-Chancellor of INCEIF, were also present at the ceremony.

In his speech at the convocation, INCEIF President & CEO Professor Dato’ Dr. Mohd Azmi Omar congratulated the Class of 2020 and 2021 of INCEIF. He praised the graduates who “have made it through under trying conditions with challenges and changes that the global population never could have imagined”. He then stated that“INCEIF applauds you for your patience, endurance, adaptability, and commitment to continue your studies remotely, participating in lectures and sitting for exams from the computer screens – a less-than-perfect setting for postgraduate studies”.

He further mandated, “At INCEIF, we hope the health, social and economic crisis brought about by the pandemic has inspired you to reset your path to advance change in yourself, your family, co-workers, and community. Now more than ever, we have a solemn duty in advancing the cause of Islamic finance in all forms be it through its equitable & inclusive financial system, social finance tools, Fintech innovations, and sustainable development instruments, among others”.

Dato’ Dr. Mohd Azmi Omar also recorded his appreciation to those whose contributions, either through invaluable advice, knowledge sharing, collaborations, funding, have made it possible for INCEIF to reinforce its hardware and software to keep up with the pace demanded by the industry. Upon congratulating the graduates of INCEIF’s 12th Convocation again, he reaffirmed INCEIF’s commitment to improving continuously funding try focus, global reach, and the quality of the academic programs and research.

In acknowledgment of their academic excellence, the recipients for the 12th Convocation President’s Award were:

Class of 2020:

1. Dr. Marjan Naseri (Iran) – Ph.D. in Islamic Finance;
2. Ms. Siti Kholifatul Rizkiah (Indonesia) – MSc in Islamic Finance; and
3. Ms. Sakinah Jumat (Malaysia) – Masters In Islamic Finance Practice / Executive Masters in Islamic Finance / Chartered Islamic Finance Professional

Class of 2021:

1. Dr. Muhammad Mahmudul Karim (Bangladesh) – Ph.D.in Islamic Finance
2. Ms. Fasihatul Husna Abdul Hadi (Malaysia) – MSc in Islamic Finance; and

1. Ms. Sumaira Siddiky (Bangladesh) – Masters In Islamic Finance Practice / Executive Masters in Islamic Finance / Chartered Islamic Finance Professional

In addition to these awards, the `Book Award’ was also given out at this convocation. Introduced at INCEIF 11th Convocation in 2019, recipients of the award were graduates who excelled in selected domains of knowledge. The recipients were:

Class of 2020:

1. For Banking, MSc in Islamic Finance graduate Ms. Siti Kholifatul Rizkiah (Indonesia),
2. For Capital Market, Masters in Islamic Finance Practice graduate Ms. Nurul Balqis Mohamed Othman (Malaysia); and

iii. For Shariah, MSc in Islamic Finance graduate Ms. Siti Kholifatul Rizkiah (Indonesia)

Class of 2021:

1. For Banking, Masters in Islamic Finance Practice graduate Mr. Ahmed Shujau (Maldives),
2. For Capital Market, MSc in Islamic Finance graduate Ms. Sri Marlia (Indonesia); and

iii. For Shariah, Executive Masters in Islamic Finance graduate Mr. Ghulam Shabbir (Pakistan)

The recipients received a cash award each, sponsored by FWD Takaful Bhd and Cagamas Bhd.

The momentous occasion also witnessed a heartwarming speech by the graduate’s representative, Muzakkir Muhammad Diah who made a bold decision to pursue his post-graduate studies in Islamic Finance at INCEIF after being retrenched in 2018. He is now part of this year’s recipient of Masters in Islamic Finance Practice.

This convocation will be the last for INCEIF’s Chancellor Tan Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz and Pro-ChancellorDr. Rozali Mohamed Ali. Both will be leaving their respective positions as they are retiring from their official duties at INCEIF.

Due to her passion for internationalizingIslamic finance, Tan Sri Dr. Zeti in her capacity as then Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia was instrumental in establishing INCEIF to develop professionals and experts to drive innovation and raise the industry’s performance in a comprehensive talent ecosystem. As the first Chairman of INCEIF Board of Directors, she spearheaded INCEIF’s footprints in Malaysia and globally to ensure that the university’s operations, services, and academic programs were benchmarked against the best international standards, and subsequently were well-received in the financial arena around the world.

Dr. Rozali, who joined INCEIF as Chairman of the INCEIF Governing Council, has been a valuable mentor in INCEIF’s journey to be a Knowledge Leader in Islamic Finance, incidentally a phrase coined by him when INCEIF was looking for an identity in our early days. With the Council, he led our wise elders in advising us on strategic directions and providing visionary global insights on the learning needs of the Islamic financial services industry to transcend the needs that were benchmarked of the industry both domestically and internationally.