The program is to be delivered at Effat University in collaboration with Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) and Ecole Supérieure des Affaires (ESA) in Beirut.Dr. Haifa Jamalallail, president of Effat University, has expressed gratitude and appreciation to the Ministry of Higher Education for granting approval for the XIFM program, which is the first of its kind in the Kingdom.“Such a program can be very helpful to provide highly skilled managerial professional programs which fulfill the needs of the rapidly expanding Islamic financial industry in the Kingdom,” said Jamalallail."The XIFM curriculum consists of 50 credit hours of a number of compulsory and technical elective courses that include fundamentals of Islamic finance, principles of finance and market, and other related courses. The students must pass all the courses and write a professional thesis analyzing a current important topic in Islamic finance. Students will benefit from extra-curricular activities such as lectures given by special personalities, soft skills seminars and career development coaching."According to Jamalallail, what really makes this program distinct from other programs is that it provides graduates with a joint Master’s degree from Effat University, Rotterdam school of Management and Ecole Supérieure des Affaires in Beirut.Jamalallail confirmed the need for launching programs that can provide higher degrees in the Kingdom. “Launching the XIFM program is the first step in executing the future strategic plans for higher education programs at Effat University which were set to fulfill the local job market needs. The program is required in the Kingdom because education in Islamic finance has become an indispensable specialty for understanding and applying Islamic financial law. Many of the specialists consider this the key to success to adapt strategic management,” she added.The shortage in qualified managers in the financial sector has increased the need for domestic financial institutions and international organizations to plan carefully to overcome the problem of a lack of competencies to be able to take advantage of banking opportunities available to them, she added.Dr. Saddiga Al-Ghalib, dean of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, believes that this is the first step toward attaining Effat’s graduate programs’ goals and activating the scientific chair of Islamic Finance."We have also recently been approached by many community development institutions who expressed their interest to contribute in activating both the Urban Development Chair, and the Geographic Information Systems Chair. So we are looking forward to achieving more success in the future,” said Al-Ghalib.Dr. Mervat Chuman, dean of the College of Business at Effat University, announced that the program will begin in the next semester of this year. “We are very confident about the program in terms of quality and excellence. We are also confident in our College of Business faculty’s expertise and strong academic background to teach this program,” she said.