Our Student Salim Saidy Awarded Scholarship for Best Researcher Participant at the 3rd Global Islamic Economy Summit in Istanbul

Salim Saidy, a PhD candidate from our Department of Economics, was awarded the best researcher participant fellowship during the “From Research to Impact” academic session held as part of the 3rd Global Islamic Economy Summit in Istanbul between June 3–6, 2026.

Organized under the auspices of the Saleh Kamel Islamic Economics Award (SKIEA) and the AlBaraka Forum for Islamic Economy, and moderated by Dr. Hesham Zaki, the session brought together graduate students from Türkiye’s leading universities including Ibn Haldun University, Istanbul University, Sakarya University, and Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University providing them with the opportunity to present their research before a panel of distinguished international scholars.

Islamic Economics and Inclusivity

Representing our university, Saidy presented his research paper titled “Islamic Finance in the Digital Era: Translating Institutional Strength into Inclusive Outcomes”. The study examines how Islamic FinTech can advance financial inclusivity across member and non-member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

His research shows that institutional strength alone does not automatically reach underserved populations, and emphasizes the importance of targeted product design, digital infrastructure, financial literacy, and grassroots Islamic FinTech solutions in closing the inclusion gap.

The research presentations were evaluated by the members of the Award’s Scientific Committee, Prof. Mehmet Asutay from Durham University and Prof. M. Kabir Hassan from the University of New Orleans.

With his study receiving the highest overall evaluation score in the session, Saidy was awarded a scholarship to attend the 47th AlBaraka Symposium to be held in Medina, Saudi Arabia, in recognition of his academic excellence.

We congratulate our PhD candidate and wish him continued success.