E-Learning in Banking: Perspectives and Initiatives
V.P. Gulati and M.V. Sivakumaran
Institute for Development and Research in
Banking Technology (IDRBT), Hyderabad.
Email: vpgulati@idrbt.ac.in ; mvsivakumaran@idrbt.ac.in
Abstract
The emerging perspectives in e-learning are
discussed. The need to re-orient traditional
training systems to offer web-based learning, by
taking full advantage of the internet technology, is
being explained. The IDRBT initiatives in
providing e-learning to bankers in India and the
emerging challenges for the training system in
this regard are considered and commented upon.
The paper emphasizes the paramount need for
organizations to get into the continuous learning
mode to succeed and survive in the knowledge
era.
1. Introduction
‘Knowledge Transfer’ seems to be the new
mantra that is gaining more acceptance than the
traditionally accepted definition of ‘education’.
Classrooms today, transcend limitations of time,
space, race and language. The Internet has
revolutionized the concept of distance education.
However, there are certain factors that
differentiate the good and the better from the
mediocre and the average.
2. Knowledge Transfer in the Banking Industry
In a country like India, where the sheer volume of
people, the expanse of regions and the diversity
of languages exists, this new medium of learning
holds immense promise. Take for instance, the
banking industry - a vertical segment, where
timely adoption of technology plays a critical role
in deciding the leader and the laggard. With an
employee base from different streams of
education and walks of life, it becomes imperative
to enhance the awareness and transfer of
technology in an easy and efficient manner.
If we look at the traditional way of imparting
education in this industry, the role of the staff
training colleges and similar academic institutions
has been vital and significant. While these have
largely met our requirements, the changing face
of technology being used in our operations
necessitates the need to reflect these changes in
our human capital on par. The need to transform
1
into a learning organization is more apparent in
today’s dynamic environment.

V.P.Gulati, Director, IDRBT

M.V.Sivakumaran, Faculty, IDRBT
2.1 The Learning Organization
The Society for Organizational Learning (MIT)
defines a "Learning Organization" as one in which
people at all levels, individually and collectively,
are continually increasing their capacity to
produce results they really care about. The
Learning Organization is therefore a collective
ideal, a vision.
The distinguishing feature about a learning
organization is that it promotes a culture of
learning, a community of learners, and it ensures
that individual learning enriches and enhances
the organization as a whole. There can be no
organizational learning without individual learning,
but individual learning must be shared and used
by the organization (P. West 1994).
The familiar litany of challenges and changes-
global competition, technological advances,
quality improvement, knowledge work,
demographic diversity, changing social structures
- is driving organizations to adapt and change.
"The ability to learn faster than your competitors
may be the only sustainable competitive
advantage" (Murrell and Walsh 1993, p. 295).
Today, the banking industry is in the midst of a
huge transformation. The voluntary retirement
schemes floated by various banks are largely
driven by the need to have richer human capital,
and the adoption of technology in various
operational areas. The need of the hour is to
impart knowledge more than learning, and to
retool the experienced personnel into more
valuable ones. The traditional approach of job
rotation and promotional incentives too are being
looked at in a different perspective. Banks today
realize the need to design career paths and job
 1 2
profiles clearly for its personnel, as the flux of
human capital across industries is not a barrier for
the learners.
2.2 Issues involved in Training
The issue that a bank faces today is to have cost
effective, highly accessible and efficient means of
knowledge transfer.

How can a bank ensure that its employees are
knowledgeable than just literate?

How can it harness the power of various media
to impart the same knowledge across different
learning curves?

Most importantly, how can a bank ensure that
training goes in tandem with daily operations,
without compromising on the quality aspect?

How can a bank personalize the training needs
of its staff?
2.3 Internet as a Learning Medium
The Internet is being widely positioned as the next
big thing in distance education, harnessing the
power of multimedia to simulate classroom
scenarios. Using the web as a medium raises its
own challenges. The goal is to transfer, as
effectively and efficiently as possible, a concise
and logical block of information from the teacher
or the computer into the minds of the learners.
Computer based training materials or CBTs are
mostly designed with superficial knowledge
transfer in mind. In the process, extraneous
information is often left out in order to simplify the
content. This constrains the learners to having
limited number of paths through the lesson.
This approach would work well for the training of
basic skills in areas of knowledge that are well
defined and stable. However, technology does not
tend to remain stagnant or stable to ensure
success of this approach. As adults we face one
ill-defined problem after another. The specific
facts that we have to know change so quickly that
some knowledge becomes obsolete almost as
soon as we master it.
I recall what Steven J Gill said in this context:
“Modern businesses are good at creating
infrastructure for decision making but not for
learning. But learning and application of learning
2
are critical to organizational success in the
Knowledge Age.”
3. Breaking Barriers
In this backdrop, open learning will be patronized
more. Access, Cost and Flexibility will be key
factors in choosing the delivery methods.
Technology limitations or bandwidth constraints
are no longer a concern in distance education. A
country-wide reliable and high-bandwidth leased
line network is already available and a large
number of players are augmenting this capacity.
Professional development will determine personal
success. Training offerings will mushroom with
quality being the differentiating factor.
3.1 Traditional Corporate Training
We were used to short, dense packaged
approach in corporate training especially with
regard to IT. The sessions were usually timed
away from normal routines. Planning, organizing
and instruction modes were lacking in real
assessment. Imparting practical know-how was
overlooked or compromised for dense theoretical
transfer of knowledge. Interactions were not
optimized for knowledge transfer. The approach
was increasingly passive.
3.2 Corporate Training Revisited
To be productive, the active learning approach
must be with constructivism as the corner stone,
training becoming more and more learner-
focussed, and less teacher-focussed. Training
should be in tandem with daily routines and
requirements and this should normally lead to
reward for professional development in line with
corporate direction. To achieve these we must
incorporate quality design elements in open
learning systems.
3.3 Professional Development of Bankers
A coherent long-term plan dove-tailed to meet the
banker's needs will form the core of a successful
e-learning strategy for banks. The strategy should
provide for professional development to take
place over time, in a meaningful manner. The
process should encourage leadership
development of the participants. The system
should be capable of supporting activities
balanced with individual learning needs, by giving
them enough scope for applying the knowledge
gained on a day-to-day basis
3.4 Traditional Audio Visual Aids and
Emerging Technology
If we consider the recent use of audio visual aids,
the use of video and CBTs have been adopted for
the benefits they offered to open learning. Videos
are powerful and flexible, bring classroom to
public domain and illustrate concepts and ideas.
While most learn and retain more from images,
the use of video is synergistic when coupled with
lecture.
Computer based training aids (CBTs) on the other
hand, have been considered a proven method,
with the ability to couple images, video, sound
and text. It can be individualized and flexible, with
built in assessment of skills, providing a cost
effective education means over time.
Today, asynchronous learning tools combine the
traditional power of reading material and
audio/video tape with data interaction mode such
as email, listserv, discussion boards, groupware,
multimedia and web-based training.
While the asynchronous mode facilitates flexibility
and repeatability, the synchronous mode fosters
group instruction with teleconferencing, audio
conferencing videoconferencing, computer
conference and computer chats.
Web based learning is the current frontier for
distance education providers. It involves CBT
using Internet technologies. The most
predominant and elevating characteristic of web
based learning is that it is interactive and not
passive. It is also easy to distribute, evaluate and
update.
4. IDRBT Initiatives
We at IDRBT have planned to take full advantage
of this potential medium of Web Based Learning
to provide value added professional development
options to bankers across the country.
We are offering a Web Based Post Graduate
Programme on Banking Technology
Management. The programme, scheduled to start
3
in January 2002, is modular in nature spread over
a period of two years.
The central objective of the programme is to
impart the state of the art knowledge of
technology and its management relevant for
modern Banking and Financial services to meet
the emerging challenges of the information era.
The program aims to evolve and offer the expert
knowledge of each of its courses to individuals
crossing geographic boundaries in a cost effective
manner through online learning experience of a
virtual classroom scenario.
Although the program is initially targeted at
individuals working in Banks and Financial
Institutions of India but in due course of time it is
expected to be open for any qualified individual of
the globe who is interested in pursuing a career in
Banking and Financial Sector if the candidate
satisfies the required norms.
Our web based training initiative incorporates the
natural complexity of a subject, by factoring in
multiple perspectives of the subject involved. The
higher goal is not restricted to the mere transfer of
content from the instructor/computer to the
learner. The learner is encouraged to construct
his/her own perception of the content, subject to
revision through feedback. Giving tasks and
opportunities, information resources and support,
and allowing collaboration with other learners
achieve this. A constructivist use of technology
presents information to the learner in multiple
forms from multiple sources and invites the
learner to make sense of it.
The learner can acquire the required information
from several sources via the internet, and from
off-line sources including his or her own prior
experience, from information gathered while
collaborating with other learners, and from
references and other sources of expertise found
somewhere far away from the computer screen.
In general, a constructivist approach is more
learner-focused, and less teacher-focused. The
emphasis is on creating an environment in which
the learners can actively create their own
meaning in the context, rather than to passively
absorb knowledge structures created by the
instructor. In this approach, the instructor's role
moves away from being the sole source of
information and moves toward being a coach and
originator of resources. The stress here is on
cases studies, problem solving, and the creation
of meaning.
The programme focusses on a step-by-step,
hands-on instruction using a learning
methodology that is highly interactive, instructor
facilitated and student centered.
This programme also envisages a personal
contact module of two weeks in each academic
year at IDRBT for facilitating better interaction
between the students and the Institute.
The virtual classroom is available 24 hours a day,
7 days a week enabling the students to post
assignments conveniently anytime during their
daily schedule. The system provides access to
chat, video conferencing, bulletin boards and
other value added services. It even provides for
optional contact classes at Staff Training
Colleges/Centres of banks, spread across the
country. The Faculty of the Staff Colleges of
Banks will act as mentors for this web based
programme.
As trainers, the challenges that web based
training poses are that resources are always
available and the users are aware of the
resources. The resources get updated and the
capability for “just in time” delivery of the staff is
critical. Another aspect is that the resources are
available in multiple formats, including traditional
staff training resources, electronic archives, video,
Internet and teleconferences.
The trainers should therefore make key
informational and instructional information
available on the web, promote anytime access to
materials and Internet use for professional
development and continuing education. The
training system should be proactive to provide a
rapid response to emerging training needs in a
constantly evolving business paradigm.
Summary
Professional development seekers who seek to
add value to their work environment are
embracing open learning more and more. With
different media offering diverse learning paths,
the challenge to the trainer is to deliver
contemporary content in multimedia-packaged
formats and deliver them across different
platforms. Web based training is the emerging
technology, which promises to deliver a simulated
classroom environment, while offering flexibility in
4
terms of time and location. It underscores the
need to become more learner focussed and to
coordinate activities in real world terms, to ensure
success in corporate training context.
5. References
[1] V. Radha, V. P. Gulati and K. R. Ganapathy
“Technology Based Distance Learning – New Vistas for
Banks”, IDRBT Working Paper No. 1 (1999)
[2] Murrell, P. H., and Walsh, J. P. "Leadership
Development at Federal Express Corporation." Human
Resource Development Quarterly 4, no. 3 (Fall
1993): 295-302. (ERIC No. EJ 473 917)
[3] West, P. "The Learning Organization: Losing the
Luggage in Transit?" Journal of European Industrial
Training18, no. 11 (1994): 30-38. (ERIC No. EJ 497
198)
[4] Jonassen, D. H., Wilson, B. G., Wang, S., &
Grabinger, R.S. (1993). Constructivist uses of expert
systems to support learning. Journal of Computer-
Based Instruction, 2 (9).
[5] Dodge, B. J. (1995). Web Quests: A technique for
internet-based learning. The Distance Educator, 1(2),
10-13.
[6] V.P. Gulati and Sangeetha Sam “Opening Up
Learning with Web Cast Technologies”, Principals
Conference, NIBM (Feb. 2001)
[7] EdWeb - The web site for the San Diego State
University College of Education.
Bio-data:
Dr.V.P.Gulati is currently Director, Institute for
Development and Research
in Banking Technology
(IDRBT), Hyderabad. IDRBT
is a unique apex body
established by the Reserve
Bank of India, to cater to the
Information Technology
needs of the Banking and
Financial sector through
research and development
initiatives, apart from
advisory services. Currently, IDRBT operates the
Indian Financial Network ~ INFINET, a high
performance infrastructure based on VSAT and
leased line technology, and plans to host intra-
bank and inter-bank applications like Structured
Financial Messaging Solution (SFMS), Real Time
Gross Settlement (RTGS), Centralised Fund
Management System (CFMS), Securities
Settlement System (SSS) etc.
Dr Gulati is a member of number of Committee’s
set up by RBI, IBA, and Government etc. He is a
consultant and advisor to number of Banks and
Institutions.
Dr. Gulati has brilliant academic career. He did
his Graduation and Post Graduation,both from
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IITD) and
Ph.D from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
(IITK).
Before joining IDRBT he was Professor at
National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM),
Pune and Institute of Rural Management (IRMA),
Anand in the area of Computer and Information
Systems. He has started his career with Indian
Institute of Management, Calcutta.
He has participated in number of national and
international conferences and presented papers.
To his credit there are number of research papers
published in national and international journals
and he has also written two books.