Ajman, United Arab Emirates, Sept 16th , 2021:  Ajman University and its Professor & Director of Center for Excellence in Islamic Finance (AU-CEIF), Dr. Adnan Aziz have won the prestigious Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA) given out by the UK-based leading awarding body for Islamic Banking awards globally.

Ajman University is the First University in the UAE to win this prestigious award as the ‘Best Emerging Education Services Provider of the Year' for 2021, for its contribution and commitment to the growth of Islamic Banking and Finance Industry. Additionally, Dr. Adnan Aziz was awarded GIFA's Islamic Finance Advocacy Award for the year 2021 in recognition of his decades long services to the Islamic Banking and Finance industry.
The awards recognize the contributions made by specialist faculty/experts in AU's College of Business Administration (CBA) and its Centre for Excellence in Islamic Finance.

More than 150 students have studied Islamic Finance related courses at both undergraduate and MBA levels at Ajman University in the last two years alone. Collectively, CBA and AU-CEIF have achieved a number of milestones already which include publication of research papers, writing of books &chapters, participation in international conferences &seminars, supervision of research projects / theses, serving on editorial boards of journals, designing of a number of courses, provision of professional trainings & consultancy services to corporate entities and clients globally, and membership of professional organizations and various boards. AU-CEIF, together with the Cambridge Institute of Islamic Finance, is also the joint publisher of the industry's oldest and leading annual publication, , the Cambridge Global Islamic Finance Report 2021 (GIFR) due for launch in October 2021.

Ajman University is the only university in the UAE with a dedicated AED 3.2 million endowment in the field of Islamic Banking & Finance.  Starting Spring 2022, AU aims to launch a dedicated Minor concentration in Islamic Banking & Finance at the undergraduate level, followed by plans for a Masters in Islamic Finance later in the year. Parallelly AU aims to continue growing the size of its endowment to enhance education and research in Islamic Banking & Finance
Acknowledging the award, Ajman University Chancellor Dr. Karim Seghir said, “We are extremely grateful for this global recognition of our commitment to Islamic Banking and Finance. Our Center for Excellence in Islamic Finance aims to be a leading source of information, education and research in the field. We are proud that Ajman University is the first university in the UAE to win this award and is now considered to be among the world's leading experts in Islamic Banking and Finance.”

 “The award is a testimony to our unwavering resolve to achieve excellence in the field of Islamic Banking & Finance education. With dedicated focus on teaching and research coupled with years of leadership experience in Islamic Banking and Finance (IBF), we tend to blend theory with practice of IBF - a key to success as an IBF professional,” said Dr. Adnan Aziz.