The ICMA Centre is delighted to announce the winner of this year’s Solidus Securities Scholarship, MSc student Eleana Kitsara.

The scholarship was established in 2008 by ICMA Centre alumnus Nick Kaltsoyannis to support Greek MSc students with a strong academic background. The scholarship, which is awarded on an annual basis to one full-time Masters student, includes 50% of all tuition fees of any ICMA Centre MSc programme and an optional one-to-two months summer training with Solidus Securities SA in Athens, Greece. Nick said:

“We awarded this year’s scholarship to Miss Eleana Kitsara, because apart from fulfilling the relevant criteria, she showed a very strong commitment to taking a postgraduate course at the ICMA Centre, contacting us one year ago and preparing herself thoroughly during the summer. We believe she’s going to achieve her goals and we’re happy to support her effort through the Solidus Securities SA Scholarship”.

Eleana, from Athens, Greece who is studying the Centre’s most popular programme the MSc in International Securities, Investment and Banking said:

“Studying finance at the ICMA Centre was a top priority for me. I feel privileged to have received this scholarship and grateful I was given the opportunity to realise my ambition.”

The ICMA Centre, part of the world ranked Henley Business School at the University of Reading , UK and ALBA Graduate Business School in Athens, Greece are proud to introduce a new Masters Degree (MSc) in International Shipping and Finance.

This 10-month programme seeks to address the needs of the rapidly evolving, highly competitive and capital intensive shipping industry that have led to increasing demand from shipping and transportation companies as well as finance and consulting firms for personnel with shipping specific, practical financial management skills and knowledge.

The degree is designed to provide a unique educational experience that combines research-led teaching and technically advanced training by world-renowned academic faculty and selected industry practitioners. Participants benefit from hands-on sessions, bespoke simulations, specialised workshops, distinguished guest speakers, and careers events and have the opportunity to spend two months in Greece, a country with a long standing tradition in shipping and the largest merchant fleet in the European Union and second largest in the world. While at ALBA students attend specialised shipping courses and participate in other activities, such as visits to shipping companies, vessels and ports, accompanied by information sessions from shipping practitioners.

The degree has received accreditation by the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) and the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (CISI) and graduates are eligible for exemptions from the ICS Qualification and CISI Diploma examinations. Internship opportunities with leading companies in the shipping industry as well as scholarship opportunities will also be available to outstanding graduates and applicants respectively.

Dr Alexandridis and Dr Visvikis, the directors of the programme, commented:

“We are delighted that this collaboration between two leading European business schools has materialised. Our expertise in shipping and finance education that integrates theory with practice and excellent industry links are the cornerstones of this new programme that aims to attract graduates seeking either to develop, or to embark upon, a finance-based career in the shipping sector. The ultimate goal is to educate future leaders in the shipping and finance sectors.”

The ICMA Centre has been ranked 2nd for employability by The Times Good University 2011*. This ranking demonstrates the emphasis the Centre places on producing graduates with skills and knowledge of real value to institutions in the financial markets.

Professor Adrian Bell, School Director of Teacher and Learning, said: “We are delighted with our position in the rankings. This reflects the Centre’s excellent links with leading financial institutions in the City, our practical application of finance theory through the use of our extensive dealing facilities and our dedicated careers service.”

The ICMA Centre’s dedicated Career Development Unit is available to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. The Unit, staffed by industry professionals, not only provide advice on writing CVs, producing effective applications and helping students to find internships but also arrange networking events with alumni and financial institutions.

Martyn Drage, Career Development Manager at the Centre, said: “We have long recognised the importance of career development and have integrated specialist career management assistance into the undergraduate degree with the Career Management Skills module as well as supplementary presentations and workshops led by industry professionals and recruiters. The service we offer adds real value to students and its great to see that this is reflected in the rankings for the Centre.”

ICMA Centre BSc alumnus, Gurjit Kaur, said: “I don’t believe I would have learnt nearly as much about the recruitment process, the investment banking industry or even about myself and my suitability to various career paths if it hadn’t been for the Career Management Skills seminars, careers committee meetings and individual careers advisory sessions.”

The ICMA Centre also faired well in the latest National Student Survey scoring a 96% overall satisfaction rate.

*Accounting and Finance subject league table, The Times Good University Guide 2011

Henley Business School this week announced that Professor John Board will become its new Dean from 1 October 2010.

Professor Board who is currently Director of the ICMA Centre has an outstanding academic in his own right with a strong track record in research and over the past five years, built the ICMA Centre into one of the largest specialist education finance departments in Europe, with an international reputation for undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education.

Follow this link to see the full news story.

ICMA Centre Senior Fellow Richard Comotto has appeared on Reuters commenting on a recent International Capital Market Association (ICMA) white paper looking at the financial crisis in Greece and the preceding crisis with the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

The white paper addresses the area of short selling as a key function of the markets which is currently under review for strict regulation on a national and European level.

Follow this link to see the film on Reuters Insider.

Champagne and smiles were certainly not in short supply at the ICMA Centre this week when over 200 students celebrated their achievements at a reception held at the Centre prior to the Graduation Ceremony in the Great Hall.

With record student numbers this year the students did not disappoint with results. The Centre was spoilt for choice in awarding its annual MSc and BSc Academic Achievement Awards. Due to the outstanding achievement of three MSc students, all three were awarded the achievement prize of £250: Xi Chen, Mary Jane Chiong and Indrajeet Mohite. The BSc Class of 2010 presented a wealth of high achievers with a third achieving Firsts, but the prize of £500 went to Anthony Beevers who graduated top of the class.

Awards didn’t stop there, the annual Vetiva Prize for Best Graduating African Student was bestowed on MSc student, Olayemi Olukayode. The £1000 prize was established by one of the ICMA Centre’s alumni, Dr Olaolu Mudasiru, who is now Deputy Managing Director of Vetiva Capital Management Limited in Nigeria. Dr Musasiru, said of the prize:

“We hope that Vetiva’s undertaking to recognise and modestly reward excellence will be a contributing factor in motivating individuals to reach within and bring out the very best that they have on the inside.”

Mr Olukayode had even more reason to smile when it was announced that a job offer came along with the prize this year.

Professor Brian Scott-Quinn’s opinion was sought by the Financial Times on the new coalition government’s regulatory body – the Prudential Regulatory Authority.

“The reasoning behind the new arrangements is not entirely clear, according to Brian Scott-Quinn, director of banking programmes at the International Capital Market Association Centre, Henley Business School.

“What is very odd is that, because the Bank of England didn?t supervise very well, the present government thinks it is able to do the job it wasn?t able to do [in the 1990s],? Prof Scott-Quinn said.”

For the full story see the Financial Times online: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6ce073de-7a4b-11df-aa69-00144feabdc0.html

Professor Carol Alexander and Mrs Kim Mountford have received School Awards for Outstanding Contributions to Learning and Teaching 2009/10. These prizes are awarded annually by the University of Reading and reflect recognition by both students and colleagues of the valuable input made by staff at the University.

Professor Alexander, whose modules on the ICMA Centre’s MSc programmes are consistently rated at close to 100% satisfaction by our students, commented: “My colleague’s esteem really matters to me – this is a major benefit of the award.”

Kim Mountford, whose empathy and understanding is widely appreciated by the students during the admissions process, says of the award: “I feel a great sense of enjoyment from supporting the students through the application process and I am thrilled and delighted to be chosen for this award.”

The aim of this awards scheme is to recognise and reward individuals who have made significant, ongoing contributions to teaching and learning, either through direct interactions with students or through their support of teaching staff within the School. Dr Adrian Bell, School Director of Teaching and Learning, said: “At the ICMA Centre, we view each stage of the journey as equally important from applicant to alumni and these awards reflect this.”

Ian Pryde, a graduate of the MSc International Securities, Investment and Banking in 2000, and Stephen Wells, Senior Research Fellow at the ICMA Centre, Henley Business School have had their article ‘Building a Global Finance Center’ published in The Moscow Times – Russia’s only English Language daily newspaper.

The article highlights Russia’s economic recovery and the aspirations for Moscow to become a leading financial centre to compete with the likes of India and China.

Henley Business School’s position as a world-ranked provider of executive education has been confirmed by the results of the Financial Times Executive Education Ranking published 10 May 2010.  This is the first year that the ICMA Centre has contributed to the Business School’s entry.

Ranking 33rd worldwide in a composite ranking for open and custom executive education programmes, the overall results of this survey reflect the efforts and success of Henley Business School following the merger in 2008. The School of Management’s business and leadership programmes are complemented by the ICMA Centre’s finance executive education programmes.

John Board, Director of the ICMA Centre commented:
“The merger with Henley has enabled us to work together on new and innovative executive programmes by combining the expertise of the schools within the Faculty.?

The main area of strength is the international focus ? international clients, international participants and international delivery ? across Europe, Sub Saharan Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia. Henley is ranked 15th in the world for breadth and depth of international clients in the custom programmes. The ICMA Centre has long offered a comprehensive range of custom programmes for international institutions such as the Bank of China, KSDA (Korean Securities Dealers Association) and the Qatar Stock Exchange.

Henley Business School Dean, Chris Bones comments:
“It is always a satisfaction to know that the results of the rankings reflect our efforts and the success of the merger in supporting this achievement. This spurs us on to improve on those areas, which will continue to transform us as a leading international business school.?

To view the full results for the FT Executive Education Rankings 2010 visit: http://www.ft.com/businesseducation/executiveeducation2010