32 Emirati Professionals join EIBFS Leadership Program at Said Business School, Oxford University

Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS), a regional leader in banking and finance education and training, announced the completion of its annual Leadership Development Program (LDP) with the participation of 32 Emirati senior officials from Emirates NBD group.

The group attended Said Business School, Oxford University in early July to partake in an intensive eight-day training program designed to train outstanding leaders and managers in the banking and financial services industry through the development of personal leadership and professional skills.

The custom-designed residential program titled ‘Strategic Leadership in the Era of Disruption’ has been structured across three overarching themes that are fundamental to effective strategic leadership: industry disruption, mind of a strategist and leading self and others. These themes create a holistic learning and development experience that is expected to elevate the knowledge of industry professionals.

The first half of the program, “Mind of the strategist in a disrupted industry”, includes sessions that focus on strategic competence of leaders such as strategic alignment, understanding of technological disruption and balancing competing strategic demands. It also includes sessions that are directly relevant to financial services. There are also in-depth sessions on strategic thinking and decision-making competencies of leaders. The program will also lay emphasis on building emotional resilience and leadership body language. The theme of disruption will run as an underlying theme across all sessions.

The program has been created based on action-oriented experiences and participant-centred classroom discussions and is designed to build the leadership and equip them with the right skills and knowledge for their growth and also the growth of their organisations.

 Jamal Al Jassmi, General Manager at EIBFS, said: “Through our partnership with Saïd Business School, at the University of Oxford, we aim to upskill and develop future ready leaders in the UAE banking and financial sector and equip them with the necessary skills to thrive and grow and meet the dynamic market demands guided by the vision of our wise leadership and the national vision of developing high-quality Emirati talent pool.”

He added: “We are pleased to conclude yet another successful annual Leadership Program and we invite UAE working professionals to come and experience the world-class program and partake in a very fulfilling professional learning experience. EIBFS is determined to support the UAE banking and finance workforce in their growth. Over the years, EIBFS has tied up with various international partners, enabling us in providing the best-in-class education to our attendees to create a better and brighter future for the industry.”

Over the years, EIBFS has managed to carve a niche for itself in the region for providing best-in-class training and education programs in the banking and finance industry and have trained around 300,000 banking professionals during the past 38 years. In 2021, the institute trained 32,317 professionals of which 36 per cent were Emirati bankers playing an important role in supporting the Emiratisation strategy to boost Emirati representation in the workforce.

In October, EIBFS unveiled its 2022 Annual Training Plan (ATP), a skills map for financial and banking professionals to deepen specialist skillsets to better serve the UAE’s growing banking ecosystem. The plan features a range of international certificates, professional certificates, Insight e-learning and learning bundles. Trainees can opt for full-fledged courses, micro-learning modules or self-paced learning options.