In the international arena, INCEIF has also established strategic alliances with the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) of the Islamic Development Bank, Lembaga Pengembangan Perbankan Indonesia (LPPI) of Bank Indonesia, National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF) of State Bank of Pakistan and Ceylinco Sussex Business School, Sri Lanka, among others. INCEIF is also in the midst of finalising its collaborative efforts with organisations in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. Initiatives have also been taken to enhance the pool of talent is in the field of Shariah. This has been done by awarding research grants and scholarships to deserving outstanding candidates. This initiative will be funded by the Shariah Endowment Fund which was announced in August this year. The applications for the Shariah Scholarship Award and the Shariah Research Grant for 2006 are still open to qualified candidates until the end of the year. Apart from this, many other initiatives have been taken by the relevant bodies in Malaysia to strengthen talent development at all levels in Islamic finance. At the strategic leadership level, Malaysia has established the International Centre for Leadership in Finance or ICLIF as part of an effort to spearhead the development of a new generation of world class leaders in the financial services sector including Islamic finance towards high performance and excellence.

Today, we are paving the way for closer collaboration between INCEIF and the institutions of higher learning in Malaysia to realise our common objective of developing the pool of expertise in Islamic finance. This collaborative move, would establish a network of mutual co-operation and collaboration that would strengthen the efforts between the institutions of higher learning in the areas of curriculum development, research, training, exchange of ideas and information, and resources in Islamic finance. This partnership in connecting the knowledge communities in Malaysia needs to be developed and maintained on a long-term basis. Entering into strategic alliances with institutions of higher learning, Islamic financial institutions and other organisations would create greater synergy, which may bring about new approaches, new technologies and new areas of specialization. Collaborative efforts between INCEIF and institutions of higher learning in particular, would strengthen the ability to leverage on the respective institutions' expertise in research. The introduction of new research findings in Islamic financial engineering could pave the way for increased innovation of new products. This would contribute towards broadening and deepening Islamic financial markets and thus strengthen the overall development of the Islamic financial industry. In addition, active collaboration between academic researchers and the practitioners will enable the practical application of research findings. BIS Review 125/2006  1  One of the strategic steps that INCEIF has initiated is the forging into strategic alliances with the five takaful operators to collaborate in promoting and undertaking research, development, training and education in Islamic finance.