Sakarya University Islamic Economics and Finance department organized a workshop titled “Islamic Economics and Finance Education” on June 18, 2013 at Sakarya University Campus. The academics and industry representatives who are competent on Islamic Economics and finance participated in the workshop. Islamic economics, which are starting to talk more and more in the World, and current situation of the Islamic finance sector, whose economic size is constantly increasing, and suggestions related to the education needs to this subject were discussed in the meeting.
Sakarya University had opened the first Islamic Economics and Finance master program under Islamic Economics and Finance Department at Institute of Social Sciences. This program was the first “interdisciplinary” graduate education program to be launched at a state university in Turkey.
Islamic Economics and Finance department organized the workshop to contribute Islamic finance industry and theoretical studies that form the basis of this industry in order to discuss education politics, targets methods and syllabus. The question of “How should be the education of Islamic economics and finance in short and long term?” was tried to answer in the workshop.
A great number of respected participants such as the Central Bank of Turkey council members Prof. Dr. Sabri Orman and Prof. Dr. Necdet Şensoy, Marmara University Theology faculty member Prof. Dr. Faruk Beşer, vice general manager of Kuveyt Türk Participation Bank Dr. Ahmet Albayrak, Assist. Prof. Abdullah Durmuş from Akdeniz University, Dean of Sakarya University Theology faculty Hacı Mehmet Günay, head of the department of public finance Prof. Dr. Fatih Savaşan, head of the department of financial Econometrics participated in the workshop.
The views of Prof. Dr. Hayrettin Karaman, Prof. Dr. Servet Bayındır, Prof. Dr. Erhan Birgili and Dr. Ismail Cebeci, who could not attend the meeting, but were interviewed previously about this education program, were spoken at the meeting. Participants had lunch under hosting of Rector of Sakarya University Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Elmas.
Later, making the opening speech of the meeting, the head of the Islamic Economics and Finance Department Assoc. Prof. Mehmet Saraç, explained the reasons, objectives and structure of Sakarya University’s Islamic Economics and Finance graduate program. The importance of education was emphasized to provide theoretical advancement in the field of Islamic economics. It was stated that this initiative of Sakarya University is the right decision. It has been determined that the approach until now, which is generally prevalent in the educational policies in this area is “to meet the human resource needed by the participation banking in the short term”. It was agreed that the approach to be adopted should be “to develop educational policies and syllabus that will realize Islamic economic life with all the concepts and institutions “.
In technical discussion of the syllabus, the subjects such as the targeted student profile, the different package programs for students from different disciplines, double counseling system, whether Arabic education is necessary or not were discussed. At the end of the meeting, participants express their willingness to contribute to the development and maintenance of the program at every stage of the process.
