The Malta Institute of Financial Services (IFS-Malta) is one of 10 partners participating in an EU funded project to set up a Virtual European Banking School (VEBS).
Following months of negotiations at the pre-proposal stage, the project was accepted by the European Commission as a Socrates programme under the MINERVA action with a total budget of around EUR 0.5 million.
The VEBS project was officially launched with a meeting held recently in Bucharest, Romania, at which IFS-Malta was represented by executive Brian Decelis and research unit head and committee member Peter Calleya.
Mr Decelis said: “This is the first time IFS-Malta is participating in an EU project of this nature and we consider it to be an important milestone for our institute. We also hope it will not be the last. In fact, we are already exploring the possibility of participating in other EU projects.”
Mr Calleya added: “Malta has a lot to contribute to this VEBS project, as our banking system is different from the continental system used by the other project partners. Therefore, through our presence we will add a new dimension to this initiative.”
The VEBS project is based on the belief that an innovative demand-oriented e-learning model in the banking sector would contribute to the strengthening of European integration by enhancing the potential of human resources according to a lifelong learning perspective. The project’s main innovative elements concern the creation of a “virtual school”/community of practice, involving students and professionals in the banking sector, implementing peer learning and context-based collaborative learning, using e-learning and virtual mobility solutions.
The project is being coordinated by the University Politehnica of Bucharest and is expected to take two years to complete. The main project partners are the Romanian Banking Institute, consulting company SCIENTER and Associazione EFFEBI from Italy, the Warsaw Institute of Banking from Poland, the Banking Institute, College of Banking from Czech Republic, Sofia University from Bulgaria, International Training Centre for Bankers from Hungary, the Institute of Banking Education of the National Bank from Slovakia and IFS-Malta.