MANAMA: The Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) has announced the launch of its AI Academy, a specialised training initiative designed to support the development of national digital capabilities through practical programmes that help individuals and organisations understand AI tools and apply them effectively and responsibly in the workplace.
The launch comes at a time when understanding AI and knowing how to use its tools have become an important part of daily work across many sectors. These skills are no longer limited to technology specialists, but are increasingly needed across business, financial services, insurance, human resources, marketing, operations, risk management and leadership.
The Academy builds on BIBF’s growing experience in this field. Since 2022, BIBF has trained more than 3,000 participants and delivered over 45 training programmes in areas related to artificial intelligence, reflecting the growing demand for practical and responsible AI learning.
The AI Academy brings together training programmes, professional certifications, executive education, advanced courses and customised corporate training solutions under one umbrella. It offers practical training tracks for different levels of experience, from AI fundamentals to AI applications in business, advanced programmes, professional certifications, executive and board-level learning, and corporate solutions.
“The launch of the AI Academy comes at a time when AI skills are becoming increasingly important across sectors and job roles and are no longer limited to technology specialists. Through this Academy, we aim to provide practical programmes that help individuals and organisations understand AI and use it efficiently and responsibly,” Dr. Ahmed Al Shaikh, Chief Executive Officer of BIBF, said.
“BIBF is committed to offering training programmes that are closely aligned with the needs of Bahrain’s labour market. The AI Academy brings our AI programmes under one clear structure, serving different learner levels and organisational needs.”
“The Academy has been designed to be practical and flexible, with a focus on real use cases, applied tools, hands-on exercises, and responsible AI topics such as governance, risk management, technology ethics, transparency and trust in intelligent systems,” Afnan AlSaleh, Acting Head of the Centre for Digital Transformation and Project Management at BIBF, said.
“The Academy’s strength lies in its flexibility and its ability to create learning experiences customised to each organisation. Our ambition is for the AI Academy to equip people to move beyond understanding AI to applying it confidently and responsibly -and ultimately to leading AI-driven transformation within their organisations.”
The Academy aims to support practical and structured AI learning, helping learners and organisations keep pace with the growing use of AI in the labour market.