The Director of Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF), Dr. Ahmed Al Shaikh, has hailed the speech of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at the opening of the second session of the fifth Legislative Term of the Shura and Representatives councils, and His Majesty’s directives to the government to undertake the development of a comprehensive national plan to meet the needs of the digital economy, through the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies in the production and service sectors and implementation of necessary systems and technical frameworks.
He also reiterated that the BIBF continues to develop academic and training programmes in the Digital Economy and Artificial Intelligence fields, in line with the current needs of the digital economy market in the Kingdom, while exploring training opportunities for Bahraini youth within these disciplines.
He also affirmed that the digital economy is not meant to replace manpower, but to create new opportunities to develop human capital potential and meet training requirements.
Dr. Al Shaikh also stressed the Kingdom’s readiness to cope with the challenges and promote digital economic activities to drive inclusive economic growth, development, and sustainability as it continues to play a proactive role in shaping the future of business and economy through the development of a dynamic roadmap for digital expansion in Bahrain.
To help consolidate the foundation for a sound digital economy, The BIBF has recently introduced a Master’s programme in Financial Technology (FinTech) in collaboration with the University of Strathclyde; one of the oldest, largest and most respected business schools in the UK, in response to the ever-evolving role of technology in shaping the future of industries in Bahrain and globally.
This year, the institute has also developed a unique, comprehensive Digital Leadership Competency Framework (DLCF), which successfully obtained its global copyrights.
In line with the government directives to fully migrate government services and operations to cloud computing in Bahrain, the BIBF was selected as the authorised training provider for Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2017 to deliver training courses in cloud computing to the public.
To further bolster this strategic direction, the BIBF has infused digital literacy and innovation into the very DNA of its training programmes, the BIBF has brought together a group of digitally-oriented members of the business community to create an Advisory Committee on Digital Transformation.
Based on this crucial requirement, the BIBF has launched the Digital Transformation Academy that offers the Kingdom’s first Blockchain Professional Qualification Programme, in addition to a series of Masterclasses and Workshops that aim to strengthen Bahrain’s position as the Digital Transformation training hub in the region.