Erste Group Junior Trainee Programme Yearbook 2010 – 2011

Erste School of
Banking and Finance
Welcome to Erste School of Banking and
Finance. As the learning hub of Erste Group,
our mission is to increase the potential of
every individual employee at every level, and
to advance the Group as a whole by increasing
capabilities, encouraging the exchange of
ideas and providing opportunities for professional
and personal growth.
The core of our work is focused on building
knowledge. We begin by making sure that the
vast amount of knowledge already embedded
in the Group is shared with others and put
to good use. A majority of our curriculum is
taught by Erste Group experts and practitioners
from within our various business
departments. In addition, we actively seek
out knowledge from outside by connecting
Erste Group to universities, experts and the
best practices of other industries, thus accelerating
Erste Group’s learning curve and
business acumen.
We believe the overarching goals of education
should be to apply this knowledge toward
action and to inspire new and better ways of
doing business. On that basis, we believe that
our ultimate mission is to serve our bank’s
customers better by raising our standards of
excellence, expertise and personal talent.
To cultivate Group thinking and Group working,
we also invest in expanding the Group’s
roots in our markets. This motivates us to
foster strong business networks throughout
Erste Group and to get to know each of our
colleagues in all Group locations.
At all times, we seek to promote the diverse
learning styles of all participants, as well as
the diverse teaching styles of our lecturers.
To accomplish this, we aim to expand the
classical methods of teaching by adhering to
several key didactic principles:
• Participants and lecturers are peers,
working at the same level. The traditional
hierarchy between knowledgeable teacher
and unknowing student is avoided in favour
of an open, mutual learning endeavour in
which both sides have ideas and experiences
to bring to the table so they can learn
from each other.
• Learning is transdisciplinary. We encourage
lateral thinking and being open to the
best ideas. We seek to inspire new ways of
improving our business through creativity
and thinking outside the box.
• Content is offered using both Brick and
Click methodologies, i.e., via physical
locations where people meet and learn in
person, as well as via online technologies
and tools so learning can be accessed at
any time.
• Our entire curriculum is designed to be
state-of-the-art in subject expertise, and
our teaching is conducted according to the
highest academic standards.
7