Introduction

• Discussions on Islamic Economics and Finance Education have been organized as part of ICIEF series. The first symposium was held in 2008 during the 7th International Conference on Islamic Economic and Finance in King Abdul Aziz Uni Jeddah. This was followed by similar symposia during 8th, 9th, and 10th ICIEFs.

• The 5th International Symposium on Islamic Economics and Finance Education in conjunction with the 11th International Conference on Islamic Economics and Finance (11th ICIEF) held in in Kuala Lumpur from 11th to 13th October 2016 adopted a resolution to establish an International Federation of Islamic Economics and Finance Educators or I-FIEFE. It was proposed that the Secretariat of I-FIEFE be based at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), with the Centre for Islamic Economics (CIE), Kulliyyah of Economics and Management Sciences playing a central administrative role.

• CIE was chosen for the Secretariat, among others, because of its expertise in the areas of Islamic economics education. For more than a decade, the Centre and its personnel have been involved in various research and training activities in the Southeast Asian region in developing curriculum and talent related to Islamic economics and related areas. The Kulliyyah of Economics and Management Sciences, IIUM has, for almost four decades been the primary Islamic Economics and Management sciences education provider in Malaysia, with excellent global connections to other Islamic economics and finance education institutions.

• Based on the 11th ICIEF resolution, the conference organizers- especially the team from the Centre for Islamic Economics at IIUM, in collaboration with the permanent co-organizers of the ICIEF series, the IRTI and International Association of Islamic Economics, together with colleagues from Islamic Economics Institute, King Abdul Aziz University Jeddah, had several discussions.

• Letters of support from ‘co-founding members’ namely Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), International Association of Islamic Economics (IAIE) and Islamic Economics Institute King Abdul Aziz University (IEI KAU) were sought and obtained. Discussions with founding partners was also carried out in June 2017, an agreed Articles of Association of the proposed I-FIEFE was finalized.

• The salient provision of the I-FIEFE Article of Association states that I-FIEFE membership will be institutional members comprising mostly universities and related institutions of higher learning. The members will collaborate in various areas of Islamic economics and finance education such as curriculum, teaching, research, publications, exchange of reference materials, talent development, staff and student mobility, conferences, seminars, symposia, and training programs, among things to establish the International Federation of Islamic Economics and Finance Education (IFIEFE).

• The 6th International Symposium on Islamic Economics and Finance Education (ISIEFE) was held on June 20th,2020 in conjunction with the 12th ICIEF which was organized in Istanbul , adopted the following resolutions among others. 

1. Endorsed the establishment of the International Federation of Islamic Economics and Finance Education (I-FIEFE) with its Secretariat based at the Centre for Islamic Economics, IIUM and agreed to support efforts by the I-FIEFE towards realizing its goal of developing quality sustainable IEF programs.

2. I-FIEFE would conduct a series of Curriculum framework regional workshops within the next 6-9 months in order to achieve consensus on a Global Islamic Economics and Finance Curriculum Framework (IEFCF) and to present this agreed upon framework in an International Workshop by the first half of 2021 and to begin joint discussions to develop this Framework Standards in collaboration with relevant national/regional authorities. The curriculum should also consider incorporating emerging courses, such as digital finance, fintech, blockchain, and ecological/circular economy from the Islamic perspective.

3. I-FIEFE would carry out ‘Talent Surveys’, parallel to this, in order to ascertain current human resource status in Universities and Higher Educational Institutions providing IEF programs within the next 6-9 months.