Jakarta, Indonesia, 16 May 2016 – Government agencies and education institutions need to have higher-quality curricula and well-trained teachers in order to develop human capital in Islamic finance.

This was one of the recommendations from experts during the “Human Capital Development” seminar, jointly organized by the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) and Bank Indonesia. The seminar is one of four IRTI side events taking place during the 41st Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).

IRTI Director General, Prof. Mohamed Azmi Omar, said that producing talents, rather building infrastructure, should take priority for the viability of the Islamic finance industry.

“Focusing on infrastructure alone cannot work,” he said. “You can have nice buildings, but you have to have quality curriculum and quality teachers.”

He added that Islamic finance practices and education curricula need to be standardized, as the prevailing dissonance across jurisdictions is not fostering smooth operations in the industry. Ensuring a steady supply of skillsets to drive the Islamic finance industry in the wake of spread of Islamic finance around the world is crucial.

“Many IDB member countries are introducing Islamic finance, which means they need assistance on building capacity,” he explained. “Indonesia can help in this direction through knowledge and capacity transfer.”

The Indonesian Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education, represented by the Ministry’s Director General, said developing Islamic finance talent is more important than inculcating theoretical knowledge alone.

Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia, Dr. Hendar, noted that the Islamic finance industry needs to be more progressive if it is to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with conventional finance. He said Bank Indonesia is committed to initiatives aimed at making the country the regional hub for Islamic finance.

During the panel discussions, experts made presentations covering the need to develop competitive human capital for the Islamic finance industry, the impact of IsDB interventions in different Indonesian universities, and how Islamic madrassa schools can compete with the best conventional schools globally.

Nyra Mahmood of the UK-based Simply Sharia Human Capital (SSHC) advised Indonesian Islamic banks to initiate talent development programs as one of the ways of filling the human capital gap in the industry. She also urged universities to develop up-to-date, innovative Islamic finance courses.

Heads of education agencies and institutions said that with hundreds of universities in Indonesia offering Islamic finance courses, there is need to ensure standardization, accreditation and quality programs.

Indonesian universities also gave an overview of the tremendous progress they recorded following various intervention measures from IsDB. The Director of IsDB’s Human Development Department, Dr. Mohammed Beddi, said the Bank has funneled a total of USD 3.25 billion for education development in member countries.