IL&FS Focus

Online education comes of ageMukesh AghiIn the emerging business scenario, there is an urgent need to train managers in international business practices. One of the challenges of globalisation is the creation of knowledge workers distinguished by professional training in global skills. Especially for executives working in multinational companies in India, this has become vitally necessary as it also ensures that job rotation to the company‚s foreign offices becomes a seamless process. This development coincides with rising global demand for branded quality education. According to a recent World Bank report, by 2020 more than 100 million people around the world aspiring to higher education won‚t be able to realise their dream because of lack of traditional brick-and-mortar educational institutions. Fifty million of these aspirants will be from Asia, with India accounting for 15 million of them.This is where the possibilities and potential of e-learning become relevant. E-learning is the contemporary pedagogy of studying and working simultaneously. It facilitates the continuous education of frequent travellers, executives subject to frequent relocation, and ‚Ëœtime-poor‚ professionals attempting to balance the demands of work, family and health. For those who enroll in e-learning programs there is no regular ‚Ëœschool‚ to attend, no commuting time, no heavy load of classroom material to lug around. The course content transmitted through personal computers is designed by well-established academics and working profes-sionals. Most online courses also offer discussion forums where students can post their problems with ease and communicate with instructors, who monitor and communicate with them daily. Therefore it‚s hardly surprising that of all online courses, business management or MBA study programmes are most in demand. Incrementally these days, business is conducted using various information and communication technologies (ICTs). So if business schools are to remain relevant and accurately reflect what goes on in the business world, it makes sense to use ICTs as the medium for business education as well.Indeed online business study programmes are critical for the development of executives who want to stand their ground in the global business arena. I am confident that given the demand for business management education, the internet will emerge as a major medium for accessing business education. The contemporary climate of economic recession, job retrenchments and threats of terrorism has made it harder for students to get foreign study visas. This coupled with the high costs of overseas travel and tuition fees, as well as the duration of time required to complete an MBA, makes online learning programmes ideal for students, especially working professionals disinclined to compromise on time or work experience. Online executive education programmes are not just helpful for the executives who opt for them. They are also a convenient option for business enterprises and corporates. This is why a growing number of major Indian business enterprises are encouraging employees to pursue online business management programmes. A culture of self-development is essential if businesses are to derive advantage from the opportunities available. Informal learning, communities of practice and networked learning will contribute to expanding the pool of knowledge workers. According to a study by the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, there were 170,000 applicants for 11,000 business degrees in 74 prominent Asia Pacific business schools last year, with applications rising more than 30 percent annually. These figures indicate that only 1 percent of applicants are admitted into brick-and-mortar B-schools. Of those who cannot get admission, the wealthy minority has the option of going to the US, the UK or Australia to pursue their studies, while the great majority of aspirants are left to their own devices. The situation in India is not unique. Within the next decade, the projected shortfall of campus-based higher education opportunities worldwide is 100 million. This equates with an unmet demand currently valued at around US$111 billion (Rs. 499,500 crore).This huge demand for university seats has certainly proved to be an important factor in promoting e-learning as a viable alternative to conventional tertiary level institutions. But this is not just market dynamics at work. Long considered inferior to the centuries old tradition of on-campus learning, contemporary online education is now state-of-the-art and has much more to offer than it did in the bad old days of the dotcom boom and bust. Content delivery systems have advanced quite dramatically, and course content is media-rich, taking full advantage of the rapidly increasing access to broadband, and the establishment of reputable tertiary institutions in the e-learning space. These factors have instilled confidence and stability in a maturing industry.In conclusion, I would like to say that the gap caused by an inadequate supply of brick-and-mortar universities to meet the increasing demand for higher education, especially apparent in Asia and developing countries, is a critical lacuna. Recognition of these lacunae has led to the boom in e-learning and promotion and establishment of the rapidly multiplying virtual universities which deliver excellent business and executive education programmes to students around the world.(Dr. Mukesh Aghi is a former president of IBM India and currently CEO of Universitas 21 Global, an online joint venture of 16 universities and Thompson Learning)