Demand will increase for talents in the Islamic financial services industry who are not only conversant in both fields of finance and Shariah but must also possess soft skills such as managerial expertise, leadership and effective communication. Thus education and learning providers must constantly relook at the methodology of teaching, learning contents and the contemporary skills requirements of the industry. Forging greater collaboration between industry and academia is also an important aspect to align the training and development and the business requirements of the industry. We should all be mindful about the employability of our graduates. The industry-academia partnership could come in various forms. For example, there could be more reciprocal dialogues and strategic alliances to explore areas with the aim to provide real solutions to contemporary issues that are key to progressive development of the Islamic financial services industry. We should capitalize on our extensive experience in industry development which makes Malaysia a fertile learning ground on Islamic finance. For example, our Islamic financial market is vibrant and progressive, whilst our Islamic financial institutions are innovative and dynamic. Islamic financial institutions could complement INCEIF’s education programmes by offering practical training at their organization. The opportunity for an attachment at our institutions is an added value to INCEIF’s programmes, and an attractive value proposition for foreign students. On this note, the strong industry support has indeed been commendable and contributed to the progress of INCEIF. Efforts by INCEIF to forge strategic alliances with entities from all over the world must also continue.

Muhammad bin Ibrahim: Evolving the next frontier of Islamic finance development through innovation Speech by Mr Muhammad bin Ibrahim, Assistant Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the Mock Cheque Exchange Ceremony between the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) and Bank Islam, Maybank Islamic and Affin Islamic, Kuala Lumpur, 15 June 2010. *  *  *  Thank you for inviting me to witness the mock cheque exchange ceremony for the allocation of zakat contributions from Bank Islam, Maybank Islamic and Affin Islamic to the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF). This act of giving signifies an exemplary commitment on the part of these Islamic financial institutions to support human capital development in Islamic finance. As a leading provider of advanced education in Islamic finance, INCEIF plays an important role to position Malaysia as a center for innovation and thought leadership in this field. But INCEIF alone would not be able to achieve this objective without the continuous efforts and support by all stakeholders within the industry. Let me make a few remarks on innovation. Few would argue on the role of innovation as the connerstone to sustaining growth and securing competitive advantage for any organization, industry, economy and nation. As we have seen in the more recent decades, innovation has fundamentally transformed the global financial landscape at a very rapid pace.