By Ogechukwu Ajuzie, Enugu.
The University of Nigeria Business School (UNNBS) is set to globally pioneer the introduction of an educational program leading to the award of a professional certificate in financial safety–net.
The financial services industry-linked programme, which is the first of its kind, is designed to give its graduates comprehensive background knowledge of the mandate and operations of the critical institutions that make up the financial safety net and their interconnectedness. The novel course, which is known as a Certificate in Deposit Protection and Financial Intelligence (CDPFI), is set to be unveiled on Monday, March 3, 2025, and would provide broad-based professional training, which is a necessity for the stability and soundness of any financial system.
According to sources from the institution, and quoting the head of administration and secretary of the business school, Gideon Ezeji Esq, every necessary arrangement has been made to ensure the smooth take-off of the programme, stressing that the Prof. Josaphat Onwumere led academic team, in collaboration with experts from the International School of Deposit Insurance Studies (ISDIS), are working assiduously to ensure that they would deliver a world-class programme that would make huge impact in the global financial system.
The source further revealed that the curricula have been painstakingly developed with the view of meeting the peculiar human capacity needs of the financial services industry, adding that it took about two years to craft the curricula, passing through rigorous individual and organization-based assessment, reviews and validation processes, including blind review of test instruments, to meet required professional and international standard and best practices.
Also, speaking on the unveiling of the programme, the registrar and chief executive of the International School of Deposit Insurance Studies, Dr Azubike Okoro, stated that the certificate programme is segmented into two courses, the Basic and Advanced. There is also the professional master’s degree programme which is still in the works but is expected to come on-stream in no distant time. The certificate courses are scheduled to start immediately following the unveiling while the professional master’s degree programme will be coming up immediately after its curriculum is completely designed and approved all through the stages. Each of the certificate programmes is to run for 12 weeks with one week of ‘online residency’ incorporated for faculty-student interaction, which is compulsory for the award of the professional certificate.
Dr Okoro further pointed out that the registration portal for the programme will be open from March 3rd, 2025 and can be accessed from either the UNN Business School or ISDIS platform, stressing that everything about the programme is online, so zero travel time is planned. According to him, “We have a very robust learning management system that can be accessed from any part of the world. The learning management system is the state-of-the-art option, designed to accommodate robust learner’s engagement with classmates and lecturers and to address any challenge that may arise.” He also disclosed that the programme is designed in such a way that it would not interfere with official working hours as it is self-paced, while the certificate, which is the first of its kind in the banking industry globally, will make one to stand out in the profession.
The UNN Business School is a graduate business school owned by the University of Nigeria, dedicated to providing academic and professional education. Governed by a Board and chaired by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, its daily operations are overseen by a dynamic management team led by the Director, Professor Josaphat U.J. Onwumere.
Located at the prestigious University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, UNNBS is a beacon of excellence in professional education, consultancy, research, and training. Since its establishment, it has been at the forefront of developing outstanding professional graduates who drive entrepreneurship and leadership across Nigeria, Africa, and beyond. With the vision to be ‘an undisputed world-class leading business school’, its mission is ‘to produce outstanding professional graduates who drive entrepreneurship development and provide consultancy services globally’. Amongst other principal officers working with the director are Prof Chuka U. Ifediora, Coordinator of certificate Programmes; Prof Ifeoma C. Nwakoby, Coordinator of executive Master’s Programmes; and Rev. Fr. Ass. Prof. Anthony Igwe, Coordinator, Executive Doctoral Programmes.
The management team of ISDIS is led by vibrant financial safety-net professionals who, in collaboration with their colleagues locally and overseas as internal and adjunct faculties, conceived and developed the novel fsi-linked certification modules as operational risk or human resource response options to challenges they encountered during practice across global jurisdictions. Some of them are Dr Azubike Okoro (Registrar/CE), Mr Amu Ogbeide (Dean, Technology), Dr Joshua J Etopidiok (Dean, Advisory), Mrs Seyi Onosanya (Dean, Academics/Business), Dr Kingsley O. Nwaigwe (Dean, Research) and Eberechi Okereke (Dean, Corporate Development).
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