Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies Hosts Session on Innovation for UAE Nationals

Dubai-UAE: 04 November, 2019 – Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS), a regional leader in banking and finance education and training, recently organised a session on Innovation Strategy by Dr. David Ricketts, Innovation Fellow at Harvard University.

Attended by over 212 UAE nationals, the session focused on innovations in the banking sector and the need for upscaling of employees to keep pace with the innovations.

With the industry increasingly leaning towards disruptive innovation which includes digitization, the need to build capacity and educate professionals has been high on priority for the banks and financial institutions. The workshop discussed the ways to find and develop disruptive ideas and innovations, the ways successful industries are using disruption to their advantage. It also addressed the need to be more creative and ways to develop and sustain it.

Mr. Jamal Al Jassmi, General Manager at EIBFS, said: “It is pleasure to have Dr. David Ricketts amidst us to share his knowledge on innovation with the Emirati professionals in the banking sector. The new face of banking is building the need to adopt new technologies and to be more creative. The workforce also needs to keep pace with the disruptive innovation by being updated on the disruptions in the industry. UAE nationals are among the highest in the UAE banking workforce and through such efforts we hope to build their capacity and keep be ready for the change. With Dr. Ricketts’ professional qualifications, we are sure that the attendees have taken away valuable information and focused understanding of innovation in banking.”

On his part, Dr. Ricketts, said: “I am thankful to EIBFS for inviting me to conduct the session on Innovation. It was an extremely engaging and interactive session with the Emirati banking professionals. The banking industry has been one of the early adopters of technological advancements and innovation in the sector has been key in its growth. This will not only help the industry but also help the individuals in advancing their careers in the sector.”

EIBFS has been constantly upgrading its training courses and built partnerships with relevant stakeholders and organisations to introduce new training modules.

New technologies like AI, machine learning, and Blockchain have replaced changing customer behavior and demands as the key driver of strategic thinking at banks around the world. Digitisation and innovative technologies are creating unprecedented disruption in the banking sector, and the rate of change is accelerating. Banks face crucial decisions as technology shifts customer expectations and changes the regulatory landscape.

Dr. David Ricketts is a renowned technology, entrepreneurship and innovation speaker. Dr. Ricketts has held appointments at Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard University, MIT and North Carolina State University. For the past decade, he has been taking courses at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. In addition, Dr. Ricketts is an award-winning scientist and engineer whose innovations have been featured by Popular Science, Smithsonian, NBC News, CBS News, Fox News, ESPN, and many other science news outlets. He is the recipient of the National Science Foundation Career Award and the U.S. Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Investigator Award. His work has appeared twice in Nature and his scientific research focuses on the physical limitations of circuits and systems and how to address them through new materials, circuits and devices.

With its comprehensive training courses in the field of finance and banking, EIBFS is at the forefront of advanced financial education and capacity-building. The Institute has partnered with specialist training and technology solutions providers in the USA and Europe to empower finance professionals with cutting-edge skills.