ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: In collaboration with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the World Bank Group, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) conducted two full-day Faculty Development Program (FDP) seminars in Karachi and Islamabad.
The events hosted almost 200 management science academics from various universities in Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the HEC and SECP, these programs were the first in a series of such programs planned for faculty members of universities across Pakistan.
Sulaiman Ahmed, Regional Director Sindh, HEC, and Muhammad Raza Chohan, Director General Academics, HEC, initiated the events in Karachi and Islamabad respectively along with Ms. Khalida Habib, HOD of SECP’s Investor Education and International Relations.
The HEC and SECP representatives stressed the importance of mutual collaboration between the non-banking financial sector regulator and academia for creating investor education and financial awareness at the tertiary education level across Pakistan with the help of participating academics.
They also expressed their unwavering commitment to furthering this cause by conducting such regular events to educate the youth.
The finance-savvy youth will ensure that Pakistan reaps the benefit of financial markets growth by mobilizing a nationwide cultural change that focuses on savings and investments.
In his message Zafar Hijazi, the SECP chairman, thanked the attending faculty for their enthusiasm and dedication to developing the youth of Pakistan.
He also stressed on the critical role of the faculty of all educational institutions to transfer to their students practical insights gained through interactions with leading industry specialists and generating a continuous dialogue between academia, market participants and the regulating body to produce far-reaching and tangible results.
Chairman Hijazi further stressed on the need for research, collaboration and continued dialogue to further safeguard investors by developing financial products, policies and law by leveraging the invaluable input of academia.
It was announced that soon the SECP would conduct a well-structured train the trainer program for a select group of faculty members in various cities of Pakistan, who will be entrusted with the responsibility of spreading investor education on a regular basis.
The participants found the sessions highly valuable, saying that such sessions should be held on a regular basis at their educational institutions.
In addition, many university representatives expressed the desire to sign investor education MOU with the SECP, which was warmly welcomed.
