Fifteen Maltese students joined over 400 others at London's Guildhall for the 16th annual graduation ceremony of the B.Sc. (Hons) in Financial Services and Associateship held on March 21.

The B.Sc./Associateship is one of the most highly respected qualifications in the financial services industry worldwide. The unique partnership between the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) and the Institute of Financial Services (formerly the Chartered Institute of Bankers) offers a dual award of a B.Sc. in Financial Services from an internationally recognised university, and Associateship of the premier UK professional body for the financial services industry.

IFS-Malta jointly with the University of Malta is the only academic overseas centre recognised by UMIST to offer tuition leading to the B.Sc. degree. This is mainly due to the high reputation of the UoM as well as the local Institute's track record in financial services education since 1979.

The 15 Maltese graduates were Stephanie Attard, Pierre Bonnici, Dennis Camilleri, Julian Curmi, Esther Marie Farrugia, Jacqueline Farrugia, Aaron Mifsud, Kevin Mifsud, Annamaria Rossi, Joan Said, Joanne Scerri, Michael Joseph Schembri, Samantha Sciberras, Claudia Zammit and Rene Zampa.

They were accompanied at the graduation ceremony by their family and friends, as well as by Professor Daniel Darmanin, chairman of the Academic Centre Board which oversees the local tuition, and by Paul Farrugia, FCIB, IFS-Malta Education Officer.

The launch of the degree programme in 1996 was aimed at enhancing the Institute's Associateship award and provide it with a higher level of recognition outside the financial services sector. Since then, over 10,000 candidates in 110 countries have registered to undertake the qualification and over 2,500 have now graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) in Financial Services and Associateship.

The Institute remains the only professional body in the financial services sector to have such an award externally verified. As the financial services industry continues to grow and change, the qualification will continue to address the challenges posed by the industry.

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