Kazan Federal University will cooperate with AAOIFI in the field of Islamic finance
Islamic banking and financial literacy were discussed at the 16th International Economic Forum “Russia - Islamic World: KazanForum”. An agreement was signed between Kazan Federal University and the Accounting and Auditing Organization of Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI).
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Sheikh Ibrahim bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Chairman of the organization's Board of Trustees, and Timirkhan Alishev, Vice-Rector for External Relations of KFU.
“AAOIFI is an association that is engaged in establishing unified standards of accounting and economic reporting in the field of Islamic finance. The organization is very reputable, we have been working with it for quite a long time. By signing this agreement AAOIFI allows to hold in Kazan one of the certification exams in the field of Islamic finance, which will allow in the future the guys who pass it to work in almost any organization that complies with the standards of Islamic banking in general. This topic is very important for us. The Republic of Tatarstan is a pilot region in the sphere of realization of the Islamic Finance project. The relevant banking and financial infrastructure is being created. Implementing educational programs, I am sure that Kazan University makes a significant contribution to the development of this sphere”, - commented the Vice-Rector on the new vector of cooperation.
Alsu Akhmetshina, Director of the Institute of Management, Economics and Finance of KFU, participated as a speaker in the panel session “Financial Literacy: Trends and Approaches”. The event was initiated by AAOIFI and was held within the framework of the organization's first International Conference on “Partnership Finance and Investment: Promoting Sustainable Development and Global Partnership”.
The discussion was devoted to key issues related to advanced approaches to improving financial literacy of the population, education and training in the direction of partnership (Islamic) finance. The participants reviewed global trends, shared experience and effective practices, as well as interim results in the process of formation of the industry.
The discussion was moderated by Najaf Rzayev, Executive Director of the Center for Partnership Finance and Partnership Programs of Sberbank PJSC.
One of the pioneers in introducing educational programs on partnership finance in the higher education system is KFU. In 2016, the university launched a master's program “Islamic Finance”. Since then, 42 people have become its graduates, including the chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan, Mufti Kamil Samigullin.
“Kazan University is a multifunctional educational cluster where interdisciplinary knowledge in economics, theology and law is realized. KFU presents a strong ecosystem, the so-called Eastern Discharge, which since the founding of the university has been focused on the study of Eastern cultures, languages, and law. At the same time, we also have a concentration of the Russian school of finance and economics, our institute is more than 90 years old. This allowed us to become a launching pad for education in the field of Islamic finance”, - said during her speech the Director of IUEF.
In addition, KFU was the first in Russia to receive AAOIFI accreditation for the master's program “Audit and Financial Management”. The university was granted the status of AAOIFI-affiliated university.
“We especially note the developed system of not only basic but also additional professional education, which allows us to ensure the advancement of knowledge in business and entrepreneurial structures. Since 2014, we have been teaching the module “Islamic Finance” on MBA and Executive MBA programs,” A. Akhmetshina added. - On the margins of KazanForum, an agreement was reached to translate the examination materials into Russian, which will significantly increase the coverage of potential candidates wishing to obtain the AAOIFI professional qualification in Russia”.
The speakers paid special attention to attracting international experience and expertise, establishing cooperation in the field of education, as well as the creation of infrastructure to facilitate the formation of a golden talent pool in the field of Islamic finance.
“The long-term potential of the university has been accumulated, and therefore we initiated the formation of a reference methodological center in the field of partnership finance, which is created with the broad participation of specialized government agencies, religious organizations and financial corporations interested in the development of partnership finance,” said the director of the institute.
Partnership finance requires academic, fundamental, i.e. enlightenment, said Konstantin Ordov, director of the Higher School of Finance at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
“Islamic finance and partnership finance are different things? Should they be different? In what ways are they different? Depending on the answer to this question, in fact, a lot will change in educational programs, and in regulation, and in the emergence of financial instruments, their active use, integration into the financial system of Russia and the world as a whole”, - said the representative of Plekhanov Russian Economic University.
The experience of SberUniversity was shared by Tatyana Starokadomskaya, Project Director of the Academy of Finance and Risks:
“The trainees of our program, in addition to gaining knowledge, have to implement it in project work, i.e. develop a product, identify a customer need that could be met through Islamic finance experiments.”
The Russia-Islamic World Economic Forum is in full swing. For example, today with the participation of KFU they discussed international cooperation in the field of geodesy and cartography.
