Doha, 07 December 2009
- Learning programmes designed to deliver innovative and transformational education
- Will deliver leading edge financial services research
- Strategic partnerships with world class institutions
QFBA (The Qatar Finance and Business Academy) hosted a two day showcase event on 6 and 7 December at its headquarters in QFC Tower 2, West Bay.
QFBA is a Qatar-based learning and development organization which was established in 2009 in partnership between the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority and the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.
The showcase event was organized to demonstrate to key stakeholders QFBA’s innovative approach to learning and development. Participants – predominantly CEOs and HR Directors from Qatar’s financial services industry – experienced some of the learning methodologies which QFBA believes will have a transformational impact on the national and regional financial services industry. During the two day event a number of interactive workshops were held and invited guests, representing financial institutions in Qatar, the QFC Authority, and the Qatar Foundation, were given the opportunity to explore the unique philosophy that the Academy will be applying to its mission, and to network with QFBA management and its strategic partners.
QFBA is all about facilitating business performance. The QFBA team and associate faculty, drawn from the top international Business Schools and organisations, bring a pragmatic approach to the design and development of organisation-specific learning. This approach combines academic rigor with innovative learning methodologies that ensures we deliver against the organization’s and the individual’s critical issues.
QFBA’s approach has been built around the specific needs of the national and regional financial marketplace as well as to support and build Qatar’s reputation as a leading regional centre for financial services education and research. It aims to be the regional benchmark for excellent business and professional education, building its reputation on innovative and impactful learning and independent research. In so doing it will reflect Qatar’s 2030 vision strategy.
QFBA has focused its first few months on researching and identifying the critical learning issues facing the regional and international financial services industry. Structured around this talent strategy, QFBA has built a portfolio of open programs and support services that will drive professional development in banking, insurance, asset management and capital markets. This portfolio is targeted across the industry population, from schools leavers and university graduates in their first roles to senior managers and leaders of the industry. Pragmatic qualification—based programs are supported by coaching, financial business language courses and a QFBA support network that will ensure participants maintain an ongoing relationship with us.
QFBA will be organized around key principles to ensure that its goals are met:
Innovation through a physical and virtual environment encouraging a culture of collaboration, interaction and knowledge sharing;
Transformational learning designed around the needs of the organization and the individual ensuring that learning delivers the relevant impact
Development of local faculty to deliver sustainable learning and development
A team of mentors has been developed to assist QFBA to provide expert ongoing coaching and development for all participants in QFBA courses to help to map their individual learning journeys.
In addition, QFBA will establish an independent research centre to provide timely, unbiased and credible market intelligence on and for the GCC finance industry. The research centre will aim to provide world class data to inform the local and regional industry, in both conventional finance and Islamic finance, as well as to contribute to the quality of design to the learning programmes at QFBA.
QFBA is passionate about learning – its business team, coaches, Program Directors and Associate Faculty are drawn both from the academic community and the business environment. Its coaches are practitioners who have extensive experience in the challenges facing today’s professionals, and its Associate Faculty are research-based academics who ensure iintellectual rigour is at the foundation for QFBA’s teaching. The Program Directors are learning professionals who can design innovative learning processes.
In addition QFBA has entered into strategic partnerships with a number of internationally recognized institutions that provide education, certification and accreditation to the finance industry. These include the ICMA Centre, the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), and the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI). These and other bodies ensure the learning achieves the required international standards.
Mr Abdulrahman Ahmed Al Shaibi, Delegated Member of the Board of the QFC Authority, said “The role of QFBA in the development of Qatar’s financial services sector cannot be over-estimated. Our financial institutions have demonstrated great resilience over the past year in the face of economic challenges, but the challenge of the future is education and competition, and we must seize the opportunity to provide world class training to our workforce in the financial sector both to achieve the high standards required, as well as to make the financial sector an attractive career choice for our next generation.”
Jon Morton, Director of QFBA, added “There is a great sense of anticipation among our stakeholders about the programmes we are about to launch. Without doubt this is the right time and the right place to be creating a resource of this quality not only for Qatar but for the wider region. The challenges facing the finance industry today are compounded by the lack of a sufficiently deep skilled talent pool, as well as of credible and reliable data on which to base business and learning development decisions. The QFBA team brings together a very high caliber of expertise from business schools around the world including Columbia , INSEAD, IESE, Harvard and LBS. We have received very strong and enthusiastic support from the Qatar Foundation, as well as from the institutions which will benefit from our learning programmes”.
Media Contact:
Steve Martin
Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications
Tel +974 4967755 Mob +974 583 1937 e-mails.martin@qfc.com.qa
Layla Salem
Senior Media Executive
Tel +974 4967793 Mob +974 5830054 e-maill.salem@qfc.com.qa
Notes to Editors
QFBA
QFBA is a learning and development organisation based in Qatar offering financial services learning and research around the critical issues facing professionals and organisations in the current and future global business environment. Through its partnership with the Qatar Foundation and the QFC Authority, QFBA provides learning solutions for entry-level to senior executive professionals in essential financial disciplines within the sectors of banking, asset management, capital markets, insurance and financial services leadership. QFBA also provides expert coaching and development for all participants that help to map their individual learning journeys. QFBA’s senior management and leadership team are drawn from world-class business schools such as Columbia, INSEAD, IESE, Harvard and London Business School.
QFC Authority
The QFC Authority is the commercial, administrative and legislative body of the QFC which is responsible for driving its commercial strategy, developing its commercial laws and forging relationships with the global corporate community and other key institutions both within and outside of Qatar. The QFC is a financial and business centre established by the Government of Qatar and located in Doha. It has been designed to attract international financial services institutions and major multi-national corporations and to encourage participation in the growing market for financial services in Qatar and elsewhere in the region. The QFC operates to international standards and provides a first class legal and business infrastructure for those operating within the QFC. The QFC was created by Qatar Law No. (7) and has been open for business since 1 May 2005.
Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development
Qatar Foundation is a non-profit organisation focusing on education, scientific research and community development. Under Qatar Foundation’s umbrella are Education City which comprises elite universities, several academic and training programmes and Qatar Science and Technology Park which boasts more than 21 world class companies involved in scientific research and development.
Chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, Qatar Foundation also aims to enhance lives through community development initiatives including Doha Debates, Reach out To Asia and Al Jazeera Childrens Channel. Joint venture partnerships in the areas of design, ICT, telecommunications, policy studies and event management contribute to fulfilling the objectives of the Qatar Foundation.
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