CMU-Q alumna Fatima Al-Emadi was recognized with a gold medal Education Excellence Award, patronized by the Emir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and awarded by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. She was the only student from Education City recognized for her academic accomplishments, extracurricular activities and research.

Al-Emadi, who graduated in 2016 from the Business Administration Program, has experienced a a seamless transition to the work world: “CMU-Q helps integrate us into corporate life from the beginning. The four years you spend here are a good transition between academics and the work force. We are exposed to professional events and networking opportunities that provided us with soft skills that we wouldn’t necessarily receive from a textbook.”

Al-Emadi now works at Qatar First Bank, a leading Sharia-compliant bank based in Doha. As a new graduate, she felt well-equipped to manage the complex issues within Islamic finance.

“Through the responsible finance course that included an Islamic finance module, as well as independent study courses that I took, I acquired the skill set you need in the banking sector. John O’Brien and Fuad Farooqi conduct a lot of research related to Islamic finance. We were provided with an immersive exposure to that,” she said.

CMU-Q’s John O’Brien, associate dean, and Fuad Farooqi, assistant teaching professor of finance, have emphasized Islamic finance within their teaching and research.

In an op-ed in Entrepreneur Qatar, O’Brien commented: “Very few business schools, even in the region, prepare their students with sufficient understanding to work in a financial sector with two vastly different models. For those who look to careers in Islamic banking, they will need the tools to help the industry tackle obstacles of contractual complexities, customer understanding, structure of transactions and translating Sharia Law into regulations that best honor the spirit of the law.”

Read John O’Brien’s op-ed “Islamic banking: Filling a void.”