The Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) celebrated the graduation of 80 male and female students from the international bachelor’s programs offered by the Institute in cooperation with Bangor University in the United Kingdom, coinciding with the celebration of the 21st anniversary of the partnership between the Institute and Bangor University.
The graduates were honored during the graduation ceremony, in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Diana Abdul Karim Al Jahrami, Secretary General of the Higher Education Council, His Excellency Professor Oliver Turnbull, Vice Chancellor of Bangor University, and His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Abdul Hamid Al Sheikh, CEO of the Institute, along with members of the academic body and executive management, senior officials from banking and financial institutions, and parents and families of students.
During the ceremony, it was announced that jobs would be offered to graduates by Housing Bank, Ernst & Young (EY), Arab Bank, PwC, and The Family Office.
The ceremony also included the presentation of excellence awards to graduates by representatives of the most prominent financial institutions in the Kingdom, namely Housing Bank, National Bank of Bahrain, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), Bank ABC, Kuwait Finance House, Benefit Company, Arab Bank, Naseej Company, and Bahrain Islamic Bank.
On this occasion, His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Abdel Hamid Al-Sheikh congratulated the graduates and their families on this achievement, praising their efforts during their academic career, wishing them success in their future professional lives, so that they will be effective elements in supporting the national economy. He stressed the importance of continuing to excel and apply the acquired skills to achieve a positive impact in their work sites. He said, “This ceremony represents an important milestone in the process of preparing capable national cadres capable of competing in the labor market. The results of tracking graduates confirm the high employment rates within a year of graduation (90%), which reflects the quality of the educational programs and the confidence of the financial and banking sector in the institute’s outputs. Continued cooperation with partners in the banking sector also embodies a fundamental pillar in empowering national energies and enhancing their role in supporting the national economy.”
In his speech during the ceremony, His Excellency Professor Oliver Turnbull, Vice-Chancellor of Bangor University, stressed his pride in the long partnership with the Institute, noting that the continuous cooperation for more than twenty-one years has contributed to the provision of high-level academic programs that provide the financial sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain with qualified competencies that meet the needs of the labor market. He added that the results of this partnership reflect the quality of the educational process and its effectiveness in supporting the development of human capital, stressing Bangor University’s commitment to continuing to enhance academic cooperation and support joint educational initiatives.
Student Salama Al-Abbasi gave a speech on behalf of the graduates. Graduate Ali Al-Qattan, Head of the Business Finance and Analytics Department at Kuwait Finance House, also delivered a speech on this occasion.
His Excellency Professor Oliver Turnbull and His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Al-Sheikh handed over the bachelor’s certificates and distributed them to the graduating students.
The students and their parents expressed their overwhelming happiness immediately after the announcement on stage of jobs for students from banks and financial institutions, appreciating at the same time the banks’ allocation of a number of valuable prizes for distinguished students.
It is worth noting that Bangor University is one of the prestigious universities in Britain, and offers accredited bachelor’s programs in the fields of banking and finance, accounting and finance, financial technology, in addition to Islamic banking. It has ranked first in the United Kingdom in the field of banking research, according to the latest classification of the RePEc database, which is considered a central index of research papers related to economic fields in the world.
