Misk Foundation and Bloomberg Collaborate on Education Initiatives to Support the Advancement of Saudi Youth
April 09, 2019
Access to Financial Training and Technology Offered at 13 Saudi Universities to Date
In 2018, Misk Foundation and Bloomberg announced a joint initiative to support the advancement of Saudi youth through the provision of financial training and technology. As a result of the collaboration, universities across Saudi Arabia are being provided with dedicated student trainings, support for faculty staff and professors to integrate capital markets content into their curricula, and access to the Bloomberg Terminal and its global community.
Misk and Bloomberg executives with the winning team from Al Yamamah University.
The program aims to establish a bridge between universities and the professional world through the provision of access to real-world professional tools and experiences that help put theory into practice. Most recently, 250 students from 12 partnering universities participated in the Bloomberg Trading Challenge – Saudi Arabia, the first of its kind in the Middle East. 52 teams, comprised of 250 students competed over eight weeks to generate the strongest investment strategy and most valuable portfolio on the Bloomberg Terminal, using a SAR 3 million notional amount.
The challenge – designed by Bloomberg and organized in cooperation with Misk Academy – aimed to help students across the country develop their skills in financial data analytics and view the market through the eyes of those who use the Terminal every day – such as portfolio managers, investment analysts and traders.
The top five teams – representing Al Yamamah University, Princess Norah Bint Abdul Rahman University, King Faisal University and Prince Sultan University – were invited to present their strategy to senior professionals from HSBC Asset Management – Saudi Arabia, GIB Capital, Al Rajhi Capital and Bloomberg. Team 1 of Al Yamamah University finished the contest in first place.
The September 2018 cohort of the financial journalism program with Matt Winkler, Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief Emeritus of Bloomberg News, and other senior members of Bloomberg’s editorial team.
In addition to campus-led financial training, Bloomberg and Misk Foundation also host an intensive, week-long financial journalism training program in Dubai for Saudi-based students. Three cohorts have taken part in the journalism training program to date, with the next edition running in September 2019. The interactive course, led by more than 20 Bloomberg reporters and analysts, focuses on the importance of data-driven journalism. This extends Bloomberg’s global financial journalism training programs, which include the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa, the Bloomberg – UNC – Berkeley Business Journalism Diversity Program in the US, the Asian College of Journalism – Bloomberg Postgraduate Program in India and the Tsinghua University Global Business Journalism Program in China.