Continuing Education
"Enriching training opportunities in the banking and finance sector".
The Institut Supérieur de Formation Bancaire has teamed up with HEG-Geneva to create a new continuing education program to better prepare finance professionals for the major changes shaping the sector today. Mathias Baitan, for ISFB, explains in this interview.
An interview published in Sphère magazine on February 28, 2024.
What is the rationale behind the merger between HEG-Geneva and ISFB?
The partnership between HEG-Genève and ISFB is based on a shared vision: to enrich the range of banking and finance training courses for professionals in French-speaking Switzerland. The ISFB, with its range of continuing education courses from investment and financing to compliance and sustainable finance, perfectly complements HEG-Genève's spectrum of initial banking training courses. The aim of this strategic alliance is therefore to combine the strengths of two renowned institutions to offer a complete range of continuing education courses. This course meets the requirements associated with all the skills needed in today's job market.
What changes in the financial sector are you responding to with this new program?
The financial sector, like other fields, is facing rapid change, driven by technological innovations and regulatory changes. The emergence of fintech, blockchain, and more recently artificial intelligence, is naturally changing banking practices and strategies. Our new program aims to prepare professionals for these developments, offering a comprehensive overview of how financial institutions operate, from the fundamentals to the latest innovations. Through a coherent set of four CAS, we provide a strategic understanding of the sectoral challenges currently facing today's and tomorrow's executives.
Where do you see the most pressing demands on the financial center in French-speaking Switzerland today?
The demand for training is focusing on the acquisition of more cross-disciplinary skills, essential for navigating the complexity of different systems. At ISFB, we focus on developing professionals with a solid financial culture, coupled with analytical and interpersonal skills. The mastery of these skills is particularly in demand in rapidly evolving fields such as regulation, sustainability and new technologies, where the major issues of our time are reflected. Experts are now faced with the need to navigate effectively in ever-changing contexts, formulating hypotheses that they can validate through data analysis, while at the same time having an in-depth understanding of the system where these data interact.
Coming back to the new training program, how do you share roles with HEG-Geneva?
Our collaboration with the HEG-Geneva for this new program is in line with a logic of academic and professional teaching. The courses, organized into four CAS, require a high level of commitment, with weekend classes and a substantial volume of personal work. Participants benefit from the combined expertise of ISFB banking professionals and HEG-Geneva lecturers. As a result, the acquisition of strategic skills is enhanced. The formats of ISFB&HEG partnership CAS courses, as well as ISFB Certificates, are designed to meet distinct needs and profiles. This combined offer enables us to provide a comprehensive training program tailored to the aspirations of each professional.
Dr. Mathias Baitan
Managing Director, Institut Supérieur de Formation Bancaire
"Experts are now faced with the need to effectively navigate ever-changing contexts, formulating hypotheses that they can validate through data analysis, while having an in-depth understanding of the system where this data interacts."
Strategic Business Area 3
Career development
In addition to its range of technical and managerial training courses, the ISFB offers its member banks' human resources departments a range of guidance and career management services.