Executive MBA in Islamic Banking and Finance: the new offer from the UOC and HBMSU of Dubai

Islamic banking operates by obeying Islamic (Sharia) law, which prohibits the payment or receipt of interest and obtaining earnings derived from the exchange of money for money. However, this has proved no barrier in recent decades to Islamic banking's incredibly fast development at world level, some 50% faster than that of the global banking sector. And, although it is still a small-scale financial system, significant growth is expected in the coming years: in 2011 it stood at $1.3 billion and will reach $4 billion by 2020.

Àngels Fitó, director of the UOC's Faculty of Economics and Business, explains that, "given this scenario, and since this is a very unique financial system, we wanted to be step ahead and design an MBA for the 2015-2016 academic year specializing in Islamic Banking".

This qualification, which is the first of its kind in Spain, has the backing of the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) leading university, the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU), based in Dubai, and the support of the prime minister of the UAE. This is, therefore, a strategic alliance, as it links the UOC with the city that is set to become the "Capital of Islamic Economy".


Islamic banking, an expanding financial system

Since the first bank was established in Dubai in 1975, the Islamic banking system has grown non-stop and now has over 350 Islamic banks and financial institutions, which are governed by Sharia, or Islamic law, and are present in more than 60 countries in Europe, America, Africa, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Today, this hugely important activity co-exists separately from or interwoven with the conventional banking system, with different operating models and systems according to each country. For example, whereas Bahrain and Qatar prefer to include this bank under the same banking system as Western banking, Malaysia and Yemen choose to follow their own different regulatory system.

Whichever form it takes, interest in this financial system is only just beginning, as demonstrated by the fact that in 2004, the German state of Saxony-Anhalt became the first non-Muslim issuer in the world Islamic debit market, securing around 100 million euros in an innovative drive to attract new investor profiles.

According to Àngels Fitó, who heads the programme, "Islamic banking will take on a more central role, not only because it's an important source of wealth creation or its ability to attract investment from the world's most important financial centres, but also because the model it proposes represents a serious alternative to traditional world banking that has come into question with the financial crisis of recent years."


A shared programme with added value

The agreement between HBMSU and the UOC will provide a programme of high differentiating value for professionals with an executive profile who want to specialize in organization management within the Islamic banking sector. For Àngels Fitó, "not only is the aim to meet the training needs of a sector with great prospects, but, by doing this from two online education institutions, to promote the training and connection of entrepreneurs so that they network".

According to Fitó, "this MBA programme will offer a complementary vision between management and Islamic banking". During the first year, students will obtain business management knowledge and skills regarding the in-house operating areas of public and private institutions. During the second year, under the tutelage of HBMSU, they will receive in-depth training in the key financial aspects from the Islamic perspective (economics, jurisprudence, the legal and regulatory framework, finances, banking, etc.). The programme culminates in a project and a business week.