AUS students excel in CFA Institute Research Challenge

A group of four finance students from the School of Business Administration (SBA) at American University of Sharjah (AUS) have won best runner-up prize at the recent Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute Research Challenge for the MENA region. The competition provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis and professional ethics. Each student taking part in the competition is tested on their analytical, valuation, report writing and presentation skills. The winners of the MENA region competition go onto compete in the global competition.

The AUS students awarded the best runner-up prize were Kunaal Nanik, Hajar El Moutlaqi, Hamdan Karmustaji and Sourav Paul. They were mentored by Dr. Osamah AlKhazali, Head of the Department of Finance at AUS and Waleed Ihsan, who is currently undertaking a PhD in Business Administration at AUS. The group submitted a project entitled “Valuation of ADNOC”.

“The team displayed an immense level of knowledge in equity research, a high level of professionalism, and outstanding skill level in communications and public speaking. Countless hours and long weekends of preparation were rewarded with this fantastic achievement! Congratulations to the team and their faculty mentor for representing AUS with pride and elevating the reputation and standing of AUS,” said Dr. Narjess Boubakri, Dean of SBA.

“The CFA Research Challenge allowed my colleagues and I the perfect opportunity to practically apply knowledge imparted across multiple classes in the Masters of Science in Finance program. Working with exceptional team-mates and under the guidance of our faculty mentors made the entire experience personally and professionally enriching. We learnt from other participating teams as well, all of whom had endured the same many months of hard work and sacrifice, to present their research,” said Kunaal Nanik.

SBA is one of the Middle East’s leading business schools. AUS is number one in the UAE and among the top 200 universities globally for accounting and finance, according to QS World University Subject Rankings (2021). In addition, AUS is among the top four in the Middle East for business and management studies, according to QS World University Subject Rankings (2021). 

To learn more about the School of Business Administration at AUS, visit www.aus.edu/sba.