The Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX), the first multi-asset exchange in the Mena region, has launched a series of workshops aimed at imparting knowledge of financial derivatives for university students in Bahrain.

Titled “Understanding the Financial Derivatives Markets from Theory to Practice”, the workshops shall be conducted at the state-of-the-art BFX Training Institute (BFX-TI) premises located at the Bahrain Financial Harbour.

The inaugural training sessions will be provided to the top 20 students specialising in the field of finance from the Royal University for Women (RUW) and the University College of Bahrain (UCB) on March 29 and April 2 respectively, followed by students from the other universities and colleges.

The BFX educational workshops - to be conducted by its training arm BFX-TI - are specifically designed to enable university students to increase their knowledge and understanding of how modern electronic financial derivative exchanges function.

The workshops will include hands-on experience on the state-of-the-art BFX trading platform which is internationally accessible for trading on both the Islamic and conventional financial instruments.

The training shall also highlight the growth and development of major international exchanges, hedging and investment strategies as well as arbitrage and spread trading. A special session shall be conducted on the growing significance of Islamic finance and the role played by the exchanges in aiding the growth of the Islamic finance industry.

All participants shall be provided with a participation certificate, with additional merit certificates for trainees achieving distinction.

Arshad Khan, managing director and chief executive officer of the BFX and the BFX Clearing and Depository Corporation (BCDC), said: “Offering direct interactions with the experts and core executors of the Exchange is a unique and valuable experience for the university students.”

“The financial derivatives markets are an important part of the global finance industry offering substantial business and employment opportunities. Exchanges like the BFX are very unique in the region and with such training programs; the student community in Bahrain will be exposed to a very distinctive aspect that they have yet to experience. We are pleased to introduce these workshop sessions as an ongoing annual event."

Dr Rachna Banerjee, assistant professor, Department of Banking and Finance, RUW said: “The faculty of Banking & Finance at the Royal University for Women is extremely pleased with this unique learning opportunity being offered to our students by the BFX to provide a practical insight into the real-world of financial instruments trading and hands-on experience using the latest technologies.”

“Our participation in this workshop is intended to facilitate our students in enhancing their practical skills and application of theoretical concepts demonstration.  We believe that this training will be a valuable experience for the students and our participation reiterates RUW’s earnest endeavour in striving to enrich the learning process with an emphasis on student-centred activities such as these.”

Sutan Emir Hidayat, senior lecturer, UCB, added: "The workshop will surely benefit our students. Relying solely on finance textbooks to understand derivatives market will not be sufficient for the students to obtain a good understanding on how a financial exchange functions.” – TradeArabia News Service