Bucharest, June 16, 2022 - Last week, a meeting was held between the management of the Institute of Financial Studies and representatives of professional associations from non-banking financial markets, members of ISF. On this occasion, the results achieved during 2021 were presented, including extensive financial education projects and events, significant development of the training program portfolio, and the same increased attention given to the examination process. This, in brief, describes the activity of the Institute of Financial Studies in 2021. Although it was a year full of challenges, with the effects of the pandemic strongly felt in numerous areas of the economy, including education, ISF found solutions to continue its projects and even managed to expand them. Thus, the entire action plan for 2021 was adhered to, representing a significant part of the approved strategy for the 2021-2023 period.
In this regard, last year, ISF continued to organize and conduct traditional financial education events and initiated new projects aimed at attracting students, future consumers of financial services, and potential practitioners to non-banking financial markets. A well-known example in the academic environment is SmartFIN@ISF, a series of vocational training seminars organized by ISF in partnership with 19 universities in Romania. Last year, over 4,100 students participated in these seminars nationwide. As part of this project, with the support of partner universities, ISF organized the Future Ideas Contest, a competition dedicated to students, aimed at identifying new ways to promote financial education. The top three proposed materials in the contest received three prizes of 2,400 lei each. These were presented during the online conference “Future Ideas for Young Generations,” an event in which professionals from the non-banking financial market and ISF, together with professors and students, discussed solutions to support financial education initiatives among Generation Y. ISF encouraged research and innovation in the academic environment by organizing debates and awarding prizes to students following their participation in Scientific Communication Sessions. Moreover, on October 28, 2021, the Institute of Financial Studies organized the Debate “Scientific Research in the Financial Field. Challenges and Solutions” – a scientific initiative aimed at those concerned with developing research activities in financial markets. Participants included the Minister of Education, the ASF President, rectors of universities in Romania, as well as ISF partners.
Programs Designed for Teachers Seeking Change
For pre-university teachers, the Start2Teach program continued, aiming to provide teaching and evaluation skills and knowledge for the Financial-Economic Education subject. Last year, 23 teacher training sessions were organized, attended by approximately 980 teachers. Teachers teaching 8th-grade classes also have access to the Training Program for Pre-University Teaching Staff in the Non-Banking Financial Sector - FinTTT, a program accredited by the Ministry of Education and aimed only at those who teach or will teach Economic-Financial Education in secondary education. By the end of December 2021, seven participant groups were organized within the program, involving a total of 229 registered teachers.
Debate, a Tool for Learning and Development
The Institute of Financial Studies organized or partnered in numerous specialized conferences. Among them is the Quo Vadis 2021! Conference, primarily aimed at representatives of all players in the insurance market. The conclusion of the event, organized by ISF in collaboration with the DC Media Group press trust, was that accelerating the digitalization process is mandatory for the insurance industry, especially in the new context generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 11, 2021, ISF organized the European Financial Services Conference ECFS2021 Challenges of the New Decade in the Financial Services Sector, 5th edition, held online. The event included a plenary session, two debates, and six scientific panels, with 57 interventions.
Last year, in collaboration with the Gândul press trust, ISF also organized the Smart Investment Conference – Romania’s Capital Market – The Next Level. The conference was held online and discussed trends and mechanisms of Romania’s capital market in 2021. Also online, on October 5, 2021, the International Education Day – in the Financial Sector conference took place, attended by representatives of ASF, the academic environment, UNSAR, and ISF. The final event on the year’s calendar was the ISF International Conference 2021 – 7th edition, Quality in Financial Services. How Can We Have More Informed Consumers? This took place in the DIGI24 TV studio and was broadcast live on the ISF website and ISF’s Facebook page. In addition to the conferences organized under
its own name, the Institute of Financial Studies participated through its representatives in over 20 other events, debates, and interviews.
Professionalization of Financial Markets through ISF Certifications
The professional certification activity organized within ISF was conducted solely online, due to the ongoing pandemic situation. Throughout 2021, a total of 17,927 individuals took the graduation exam in the field of insurance distribution, of which 13,454 (75.05%) were for initial professional certification to gain access to practice in this field. Last year, 37,669 insurance and/or reinsurance distributors submitted evidence of completing the 15 hours of continuous professional training, which allows them to continue their insurance distribution activities. The pass rate for certification exams in the field of insurance product distribution was 79.17%. For the continuous validation of competencies to maintain the right to practice in the field of claims assessment, out of 578 claims assessment specialists who needed to maintain their certification by passing the continuous professional training exam in 2021, only 482 passed this exam.
High-Quality Professional Training, a Priority for ISF
Throughout 2021, the development of ISF’s program portfolio continued online, with the course offerings adapted for the second year to the situation caused by COVID-19. All programs in the portfolio were transferred to the online environment: both interactive synchronous online training sessions were organized via the Zoom application, as well as asynchronous sessions on ISF’s e-learning platform.
In June last year, the Institute organized the first edition of the Capital Market Summer School, held online, and the fourth edition of the Insurance School – events that provided participants with the opportunity to gain relevant knowledge specific to their activities.
An important chapter of ISF’s activity is research. Here, a highly useful tool is the Financial Studies Review (RSF), which publishes works by practicing professionals, authors from the scientific and academic world, as well as young researchers. To provide greater rigor and complexity to this endeavor, the composition of the Financial Studies Review’s Scientific Council was expanded by including prominent representatives from universities in Romania and abroad.
Despite the challenges, the Institute of Financial Studies has proven that it can adapt and is capable of fulfilling its mission, achieving very good results. These observations remain relevant for 2022 as well. Although the war in Ukraine is severely impacting financial markets and the pandemic still has negative effects, ISF is already exceeding its objectives.