Reuters Teams with Smith School to Deliver First 3000 Xtra Certification Course

The University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business has partnered with Reuters to deliver the first-ever external certification program for Reuters 3000 Xtra, the company's high-speed, high-performance information service for finance professionals. The certification course, offered to the Smith Schools undergraduate and MBA students beginning this fall, takes place in the schools Netcentric Financial Markets Laboratory. Reuters 3000 Xtra, a key component of the finance lab, enables students to follow the markets, build and test investment portfolios, and conduct research using the same type of information service that professionals use.

The Reuters certification course provides Smith students with a unique opportunity to become highly trained in the use of a tool that is standard in the financial services industry, said Howard Frank, dean of the Smith School. This course will enable participating Smith School students to graduate with a clear edge in the marketplace as they launch their careers.

We are very pleased to be partnering with the Smith School in this extremely important endeavor, said Alexander Hungate, Reuters Global Head of Marketing. Resumes of Smith students with a certification in Reuters 3000 Xtra will be very meaningful to potential employers, as Reuters 3000 Xtra is the premium product used by financial services professionals around the world.

The eight-week, non-credit course, which is team-taught by a Smith School finance instructor and an instructor from Reuters, emphasizes application and not theory. Students are expected to become skilled in the data, navigation and functionality of the Reuters 3000 Xtra components.

Students will finish this course with the ability to create the same complex models that they will be required to deliver as professionals in the industry, said Charles LaHaie, the Smith School instructor teaching the course. Those who are certified in Reuters 3000 Xtra will be extremely attractive to potential employers because they can add value from the moment they start work.

There are over 300,000 financial market professionals using Reuters products around the world, with more than 79,000 on Reuters 3000 Xtra, the flagship desktop with the broadest range of information and news. The University of Maryland is the largest university user of Reuters in the United States. As the first external Reuters 3000 Xtra certification course, the Smith School initiative is serving as a beta test, and similar certification courses that may be developed by Reuters in partnership with other business schools.

Reuters, the global information company, provides indispensable information tailored for professionals in the financial services, media and corporate markets. Our information is trusted and drives decision making across the globe based on our reputation for speed, accuracy and independence. We have 14,700 staff in 92 countries, including some 2,300 editorial staff in 197 bureaus serving approximately 130 countries, making Reuters the worlds largest international multimedia news agency. In 2003, the Reuters Group had revenues of 3.2 billion.