La Trobe University Launches Australia's 1st Islamic Finance e-Learning Program

13 December 2010

Ethica Institute, a Dubai-based leader in Islamic finance training and certification, and Australia's La Trobe University have launched Australia's first ever Islamic Finance e-learning program.

This will be the first time ever that a 100 per cent online course in Islamic finance is offered as part of an on-campus course. The course will aim to provide students with academic and industry knowledge of the products within the Islamic finance and banking industry in Australia and overseas.

La Trobe University was also first in Australia to offer a Masters program in Islamic banking and finance two years ago.

Enrolment for the award-winning Master of Islamic Banking and Finance (MIBF) program is now open and online classes begin on January 10, 2011.

The international education industry is Australia's largest services export, contributing over 550,000 students and $12 billion annually to the country's economy. Moreover, the Australian government actively began promoting Islamic finance in recent years by exploring tax neutrality for Shariah- compliant products.

This year, La Trobe's Islamic finance program won numerous awards including the prestigious Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) Award for excellence.

"E-learning is the best way to address Australia's growing demand for certified Islamic finance graduates. La Trobe is already a pioneer in the field with one of the world's only Master’s programs in Islamic banking and finance, and now with an e-learning component, they scalably grow their campus across the globe," said Ethica's managing director, Atif Khan.

Earlier this year Mashreq Bank rolled out Ethica's e-learning program across its entire Islamic banking network. Dow Jones affiliate Zawya.com and New York based Banker's Academy also signed on with Ethica recently.

Sources:

Ashleigh McIntyre, "La Trobe offers online Islamic finance course" Money Management December 13, 2010

"Australia unveils Islamic Finance e-learning program " Trade Arabia December 12, 2010