A hundred Bloomberg terminals were installed at universities across the UAE to boost distance learning.
The move, part of an education initiative between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Bloomberg LP and the Ministry of Education, gave more than 4,000 students remote access to the terminals.
The terminals are a portal to real-time financial market data and news. They were installed at UAE University, Abu Dhabi University, New York University Abu Dhabi, Khalifa University, and the Higher Colleges of Technology Abu Dhabi Campus, where students have begun their Bloomberg Market Concepts certifications, an e-learning curriculum that provides an introduction to global financial markets.
The aim of the Adnoc Bloomberg Education Initiative is to ensure the UAE’s workforce is ready to navigate capital markets and securities.
Under the programme, UAE students are taught specialised financial skills. They learn the fundamentals of global financial markets and the role of financial information and analytics in the investment and trading community.
These sessions are delivered by Bloomberg experts and analysts and cover a range of topics, including how to use news analytics to gain market insights, and the effect of Covid-19 on financial markets.
“We are also grateful that this initiative has been adapted to be able to continue to serve students and researchers during the Covid-19-related restrictions the world is facing," said Dr Samer Al Samahi, assistant undersecretary for Planning and Development at the Ministry of Education.
"The abilities gained through the Adnoc - Bloomberg Initiative will empower and support the UAE’s students and researchers and enable them to be better able to adapt to the changing dynamics of the finance world."
Benjamin Grolimund, regional manager, Middle East and Africa – Financial Products, Bloomberg, said the terminals were installed to ensure students could continue to access resources and data.
"We hope this will support them as they prepare to make the transition to the professional world, and in playing an active role in the UAE’s economy,” he said.
A further 200 terminals will be installed across 10 UAE universities in the future.
Omar Al Suwaidi, director of the executive office directorate at Adnoc, said the initiative would also help "create a world-class talent pool for Adnoc’s new trading entities, supporting our strategy to build out our trading activities and capabilities in order to deliver greater value from our products".
