Development of international training in Asia;

An efficient training as an example

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
Che-Bok, IM , Yong-Chon, HYON , Seung-Yong, LEE , Kyung-Hun, Kim , In-Chul, Beom
(a)
Che-Bok, IM
(b)
Yong-Chon, HYON
(c)
Seung-Yong, LEE
(d)
Kyung-Hun, Kim
(e)
Che-Bok, Im

Article Information Abstract

Keywords:
K1, IRaTCA
K2, Training system improvement
K2, Cultural consideration
K4, Asian Railways
K5. PBL, PMP
Corresponding author:
Che-Bok IM
Tel.: +82-31-460-4516
(Mobile: +82-10-2765-2924)
Fax.: +82-31-460-4516
e-mail: limsplay@korail.com
Address: 374-1, Weoram-dong,
Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
Introduction
IRaTCA, International Railway Training Center for UIC Asia, opened in May 2008
at the request of Asian railways.
In the first year, IRaTCA conducted 4 courses for 51 trainees. The training demand
has been increased ever since its opening; IRaTCA conducted 5 courses for 69
trainees in 2009 and 7 courses for 104 trainees in 2010. IRaTCA is broadening its
influence not only to Asia but to Africa.
There are two key factors - training system development and cultural consideration
to trainees - which have lead successful international rail training.
We want to share the training experience, focusing on its systematic development,
and to indicate the importance of cultural consideration in international training.
Training process and its development
Training course of IRaTCA consists of 3 stages – Pre, Main and Post Course. The
purpose of the Pre Course is to give trainee general information of the course
including theTeam project. The main Course is comprised of various programs like
lectures, practice, technical visits, cultural exchanges, team projects, etc. For
effective training, technical visits are closely organized with contents of lectures.
The team project is voluntary learning to effectively cope with problems on
trainees’ railways by taking advantage of what they learnt during the course. The
purpose of the Post Course is to verify the effect of the Main Course by checking
results of the Team project.
IRaTCA has improved its training system over the last few years.
Firstly, the training period is extended from 2 weeks to 3 weeks to give trainees
various experiences. This action was implemented by analyzing trainees’ surveys.
Secondly, a new method, PMP(Project Management Professional), has been
added into the Team project to enhance the possibility of execution. Thirdly, In
2010 IRaTCA decided to have a multi-year training course to build a closer
relationship between the content of training and the recipient country’s needs.
Importance of cultural consideration in training
IRaTCA mainly targets the region of Asia. Asian countries have diverse
backgrounds - history and religion – which differ from that of Europe and that
makes a big difference in culture. Hence, cultural difference has to be considered
as a major factor for international training in Asia.
There are two examples for cultural consideration. Firstly, having a cultural
exchange. There is a cultural exchange session during a course. Participants in
each country introduce their traditions, costume, folk songs etc. This program
helps us understand each other and minimizes the culture shock. Secondly, using
volunteers. We allocate 4 to 6 volunteers to a course. They spend the time with
trainees and fulfill their needs in private. Thus, volunteers contribute to ease
tension which participants can have whilst in a foreign country.
Conclusion
Asian Railways ask IRaTCA to play a main role in fulfilling their educational needs.
In response to this, IRaTCA extended the period of a course and adopted PMP
method in the Team Project.
Cultural consideration is another key success factor in international training. It
helps participants to have open minds and a flexible approach. Training is not only
operating a system but also building a relationship. International rail training can
reach a successful result by taking both these into consideration.
Che-Bok, IM et Al
1 Introduction
The understanding of IRaTCA (International Railway
Training Center for UIC Asia)
th
IRaTCA opened on 21 May, 2008 with the approval of
UIC. The establishment of IRaTCA, a representative
railway training center in Asia, was proposed by a
Vietnamese representative aimed at bringing
collaboration amongst Asian countries through education
and training programs. There was unanimous approval to
nd
open the training center in Korea – during the 2 Asian
th
railway summit in India on 21 May, 2007. The
establishment of IRaTCA was approved at the 2 UIC
nd
th
General Assembly in Paris on 6 June, 2007.
IRaTCA was founded to develop Asian railway, to
enhance international cooperation, to keep the spirit of
st
the 1 Asian Railway Summit and to enable it to spread
abroad. The main business objectives of IRaTCA are
managing railway training programs for developing
countries, conducting joint research and business, and
hosting international railway events. Its railway training
course mainly targeted countries of Africa and the Middle
East, as well as the UIC Asian regional countries.
1.1 The outline of IRaTCA
IRaTCA, an official international railway education
institute, is aiming at reinforcing collaborative
development of railway industry and promoting the
capability of human resources in global railways. In order
to achieve the aims, IRaTCA joins hands with many
organizations abroad. International railway training
programs of IRaTCA are also operated on the basis of
this network.
The following diagram shows the network of IRaTCA.
2 Training system of IRaTCA and its
improvement
2.1 The railway training programs of IRaTCA
The training system of IRaTCA goes through 6 steps,
of which its training program process consists of 3.
IRaTCA provides training courses such as Advanced
Railway Operation, Rolling Stock and Railway
Management, accommodating customized course service
on the request of trainees. The expenses for training
programs are supported by KOICA, UIC and KORAIL
depending on the courses.
April 6th – 8th, 2011, Madrid,Spain
Development of international training in Asia
2.2 Training system
The training system of IRaTCA goes through 6 steps,
which are; demand survey, course planning, course
decision, selection of trainees, training execution and
feedback.
The first step is conducted to analyze demands for
railway education and field of interests of ANTC seminar
participants in order to set up an annual plan for IRaTCA
which gets financial support from UIC and KORAIL. A
survey is carried out to calculate precisely the trainees’
needs. In case of training programs supported by KOICA
The demand survey, related with the training programs
supported by KOICA, was conducted by diplomatic
service and Ministry of Transportation of the countries
concerned.
During the process of course planning, an annual plan
of IRaTCA is set up on the basis of data gathered in the
first stage. Consulting for operations and process is
conducted by an advisory committee which is composed
of experts in overseas business and training programs
from KORAIL, KOICA, and Korea National Railroad
College.
Designing programs and the selection of instructors are
completed after receiving confirmation from UIC, KOICA,
and KORAIL during the course decision stage. Reports
submitted for confirmation should include training course
information such as course title, program content, budget
and instructors etc.
In the stage of selection of trainees, trainees for KOICA
support programs are selected by KOICA overseas
regional offices. In case of programs supported by
KORAIL and UIC, IRaTCA invites trainees recommended
by railway organizations of each country.
Training execution is comprised of 3 steps: pre-training
program, main training program, and post-training
program. Background information for the training program
is provided by online pre-training program. The main
training program consists of lectures, practice, and
technical visits for trainees. Trainees submit their final
reports, and present them in the post-training program.
All reports of trainees are presented and receive
feedback from designated experts in the seminar so that
this program can improve. The outcome of training
programs is announced at the Asian regional assembly of
UIC and ANTC seminar. IRaTCA e-News also plays an
important role in linking trainees and IRaTCA by reporting
the progress in recent training programs, and voluntary
news from the graduate trainees.
Training process by Phase;
Pre-training Main training Post- training
Program Program Program
Lectures, Field
Trips & Practices
About IRaTCA,
Guideline and Final Report
Daily Reflections
Basic information
Seminar & Joint
→ Team Project & →
Country Report project
Discussion(PBL
Methods)
Team Project Feedback
Post-training
Program
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Che-Bok, IM et Al Development of international training in Asia

The training system consists of 3 steps: Pre-training 2.2.4 The training courses
program, Main training Program, and Post- training
Program. Basic information, guidelines about the course, The training courses of IRaTCA consist of railway
and what needs to be prepared by trainees are provided policy & management, advanced railway, rolling stock,
by an online pre-training program. The main training international logistics and the urban railway course.
program is composed of lectures, technical visits, practice, Tab. 1 IRaTCA training courses
and discussion so that they can find open-ended solutions
Program Purpose Target Main subject
to problems in their team projects. Trainees apply lectures
and practices to real situations based on the participatory To Share
national policy Railway Transportation policy,
main training program, and present the outcomes. for railway
Railway policy construction manager investment in railway,
& management and Decision strategy in Korea
course efficient maker in railway &
railway railway policy management, private
2.2.1 Pre-training program management investment, etc.
plan
At this stage, trainees receive on-line information such To share The status of Korean
as introduction of Korea, Korean railway organizations, Middle-
management management railway operation
Advanced system of executive in Civil engineering,
curriculum information, and preparation for the course. In railway course Korean cutting- railway-related electricity, rolling
particular, introduction of preparation of materials such as edge organization stock, IT, R&D,
technology safety, etc.
data of their railway for the Team Project, which is
To share The status of Korean
commenced in the main course, are given. technology and railway operation
Rolling stock maintenance of Specialist in Outline of rolling
course Korean rolling rolling stock stock technology
KTX & KTX-ll
2.2.2 Main training course. stock Special equipment
The main training course consists of an orientation To introduce The status of Korean
the status of Middle- railway operation
regarding training courses, country reports, lectures, field logistics in
International Korean management Logistics policy in
trips, cultural & technical visits, a team project, evaluation railway executive in
logistics course and experience Korea
railway-related Inter-Korean railway
and workshop. advanced organization Trans Asian corridor
operation

The lectures have 10~12 subjects over the basic The status of Korean
To share urban Decision railway operation
period of 3 weeks, which are divided into general and railway
Urban railway technology maker in urban railway plan,
course and railway policy construction,
specialized subjects. The general subject is the current know-how for of UIC operation
green growth members subsidiary enterprise
status of Korea railroad and the specialized subjects are new technology
the details about policy, management and technology.
The railway policy & management mainly consists of
The field trips help trainees to understand what they
lectures and field trips pertaining to railway construction in
have learned in the lectures through the direct experience
the participants` countries. The advanced railway course
and visits and to increase the effect of the training.
provides the opportunities for them to learn cutting-edge
Therefore, immediately after the lectures, it makes the
railway system of Korea. The rolling stock course is
training more effective to select the place closely related
prepared to give general information about diesel and
to them.
electric locomotives and high speed trains to the
specialists of the field. The international logistics course
The cultural & technical visits are aimed at giving the
includes the overall contents about railway logistics of the
trainees good memories and a positive approach to
Asian region and helps them to understand the inter-
Korea. The visits also help them to relieve the mental and
Korean railway. And the urban railway course includes
physical fatigue from the training. Through the cultural
lectures covering construction, investment and
experience, they can understand Korean tradition and
management in railway. In addition, courses can be
history. They also visit leading conglomerates of Korea
customized according to the participants` needs.
and experience the cutting edge technology of Korea.

The team project is a series of processes to find 2.3 Participants of IRaTCA

solutions for problems the countries of the participants are Many participants from Asian, African and Middle-
facing, through discussion and with the help of advisers. Eastern countries take part in the IRaTCA courses.
The Problem Based Learning (PBL), method is used for IRaTCA had 16 courses for 222 participants by 2010. The
them to find the solutions in the team project participants are railway managers and decision makers of
railway policy on the railway policy & management,
2.2.3 Post- training course advanced railway and international logistics course,
whereas they are engineers on the rolling stock and urban
A post-training course is a process in which the
railway courses.
participants apply the team project and lectures they have
experienced and learned during the main course to their
railway field. The solutions they have found through the Tab. 2 IRaTCA training courses in 2010.
team project are applied to their situations. Subsequently,
Period
if they encounter any problems, they will invariably Course
(Y.M.D)
No. Country
contact the advisers in order to solve them. And they Advanced railway 2008.
15 Nigeria
upload the result reports on to IRaTCA website, course for Nigeria 3.2~4.4
iratca.korail.com. Through these activities, the Advanced railway 2008.
14
Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri
participants remain in contact with IRaTCA, which allows course 6.16~7.4 Lanka
Mongolia, Myanmar,
them to learn technology. Railway policy &
2008. Bangladesh, Vietnam, Egypt,
management 14
9.16~10.2 Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Congo,
course
Gabon.

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Che-Bok, IM et Al Development of international training in Asia

Advanced railway 2008.

Vietnam, Sri Lanka, knowledge of their railway policy and investment.
8 Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan,
course 11.6~11.21
Cambodia, Congo, DR Congo
Participants could however be reluctant when the content
Rolling stock 2009. India, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri is delivered unilaterally. Thus, we have to consider the
10
course 6.8~6.26 Lanka, Uzbekistan economical gap between Korea and recipient countries.
Mongolia, Bangladesh, Vietnam,
Sri
Advanced railway 2009.
17 Lanka, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan,
Given the participants in 2010 IRaTCA courses, the
course 2.12~2.27 average GDP of recipient countries is $2920(USD) and
Ukraine, Indonesia, Kazakhstan,
Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan the average GDP of Korea is $20400(USD) in 2005.
Railway policy & Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, Sudan, However, almost all participants are high-ranking officials
2009.
management 15 Angola, Uzbekistan, Kenya,
course
5.7~5.22
Congo, Pakistan in their organizations. Amongst them, 85.9% have
Advanced railway 2009. bachelor’s degrees and 24.4% have master’s degrees.
12 Vietnam Therefore, we have to be mindful of the participants’
course for Vietnam 7.2~7.17

Urban railway
2009. Taiwan, Mongolia, Bangladesh, position and the status of their countries during the course
10.24~10.3 15 Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, designing stage.
course.
1 Korea
Advanced railway 2010.
course for Vietnam 2.21~3.13
15 Vietnam, Firstly, we have to make sure that participants do not
Railway policy & feel that their is a lack of respect towards their countries.
2010. Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri
management
3.30~4.17
12
Lanka, Afghanistan, India
Secondly, we need to design the training course as a two-
course way education in which they can use their background
Advanced railway knowledge as much as they can.
2010.
course for the 13 the Philippines
5.17~6.4
Philippines
In order to resolve the first issue, IRaTCA operates a
Advanced railway 2010.
course for Algeria 6.10~6.25
18 Algeria Volunteer system. 3 volunteers are invited to a course.
Advanced railway They are always with participants as a guide, helper and
2010.
course for
6.29~7.16
13 Mongolia friend so that participants feel respected. It helps them
Mongolia immerse into the training course by relieving their stress
when visiting a foreign country.
3 Cultural considerations
As mentioned earlier, most of the participants are in
Most of the participants to IRaTCA are from developing executive positions and also highly educated people.
countries of Asia and Africa. They are likely to be high- Hence, it is essential to make a two-way education
management executives in railway and transportation in environment to let participants use their educational
their own countries. background fully. To do this, IRaTCA designed the course
by applying EAT theory which can boost participants’
The proper approaching methods are needed for the spirits. In other words, we induce participants to compare
participants to learn the advanced technology of Korea in Korea Railway and their Railways and voluntarily apply
order to develop their railways. the new knowledge to the Team Project by distributing
Experience (Technical visit), Awareness (Team Project)
3.1 Considerations on cultural differences and Theory (Lecture) into a training course in balance.
The IRaTCA course aims at spreading Korean railway
For example, the 3 week scheduled training course
technology to the participants. Because they are from one
generally consists of 30 hour lectures, 20 hour technical
or various countries, we have to give them historic and
cultural consideration in order to make the course efficient. visits related to the lectures and 10 hours self-access
such as the Team Project for the participant oriented
study.
The IRaTCA course is mainly divided into 2 parts,
which are country reports and cultural exchange.
3.3 Considerations on the composition of
The country reports provide opportunities for the countries
participants to introduce not only the history of their It is important to consider the composition of
countries, but also the past and present status and future participants’ countries if there is a multinational training
plans of their railways. Through this time, they can get to course. There are possibilities of hostility towards other
know the background of each country and understand countries due to historical and diplomatic backgrounds.
each other better. The subject of railways makes them Thus, an appropriate composition of countries has to be
feel unified. taken into account prior to the course. For example, in the
2010 Advanced Railway Operation course which targets
The cultural exchange is an emotional time while the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional
country reports part is rational. During this event, they Cooperation) members, participants from Pakistan sent
wear their own traditional costumes and introduce their notice of absence because there was hostility between
own cultures such as folk song, regional product, etc. By Pakistan and India. It indicates how important it is to
taking a photo and singing the folk song together, they will consider the relationship between participants’ countries.
understand and respect each other more.

3.2 Considerations of the economical gap 4 Satisfaction survey analysis

between Korea and a recipient country Participants take a survey at the end of a training
course. The content of the survey is categorized into two
The purpose of International Railway Training is to
parts – satisfaction part and achievement part. The
show participants the knowhow and the technology of
satisfaction part has factors of participant, lecturer,
advanced railways and lead them to acquire the
content, course designing, facility and recommendation. In

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Che-Bok, IM et Al Development of international training in Asia

the achievement survey, participants grade their
achievement after the course in comparison to the past in
terms of knowledge, technology and attitude factors.
Furthermore, we receive their recommendations for better
training.
4.1 Outline of the survey
The average satisfaction rate is 9.48. It means that
participants are relatively highly satisfied with the IRaTCA
training course. Lecturer and facility figure have higher
rates but, participant figure has a relatively low rate. This
means participants’ eagerness for the course is low in
comparison to other figures. Asked whether the course is
recommendable, participants graded high, 9.69, which
means participants think the training course is worth
recommending to their colleagues.

4.1.1 Information of respondents 4.2.2 Analysis on achievement figures

- Target: participants of IRaTCA courses in 2010 - Before: how was your ability before taking this course?
- Volume: 89 samples - After: how is your ability after taking this course?
- Age: 30s ~ 50s
- Duration of course: 3 weeks
- Surveyed courses; Tab. 4 Rates on achievement figures
 Advanced Railway Operation for Vietnam
 Railway Policy and Management for SAARC Classification Before After Achievement
members Knowledge 5.70 8.91 3.21
 Railway Operation for the Philippines
 Railway Operation for Algeria Technology 5.53 8.69 3.16
 Advanced Railway Operation for Mongolia Attitude 5.99 9.03 3.04

Average 5.74 8.87 3.13

4.1.2 Content of the survey sheet
The Survey sheet is composed of satisfaction part,
achievement part and recommendation part. The Graph. 2 Rates on achievement figures
satisfaction part is composed of participant, lecturer,
content, course designing, facility and recommendation
factors. In the achievement part, it compares the 10
participants’ knowledge before and after, as well as, 8
technology and attitude. The survey is graded using a 6
10-point scale standard. 4 Before
2
0 After
4.1.3 Analysis tools
SPSS V12.0 and Excel 2007 programs were used for
Achievement
the analysis.

4.2 Data Analysis

Analysis on achievement shows changes in

4.2.1 Analysis on satisfaction figures participants’ knowledge, technology and attitude.
Participants were graded 5.74 before the course and 8.87
Tab. 3 Rates on satisfaction figures afterwards. So, the average improvement is 3.13. In
Conte particular, participants had the best achievement in
nt & Lectur Partici Facilit
Reco
Avera knowledge(3.21↑) and technology(3.16↑) and
Others mmen
design er pant y ge attitude(3.04↑) as follows.
dation
ing
9.4 9.53 9.23 9.53 9.48 9.69 9.48
4.2.3 Recommendations of participants
- Duration of the course: 3 week schedule is too short
Graph. 1 Rates on satisfaction figures - Number of participants: ask IRaTCA to invite more
participants
- Food: Consider menu for vegetarian, Muslim and
9,48 Buddhist
Average
9,69 - Culture: want to visit Korea’s historical sites
Others 9,48 - Other: would like to participate in the course with my family
9,53
These are noteworthy recommendations of participants.
Participant 9,23
Most of them can be classified in two ways – program
9,53 development and cultural consideration. Therefore, we
Content & designing 9,4 have to consider not only the system of training program
but also cultural conditions and circumstances.
9 9,2 9,4 9,6 9,8

April 6th – 8th, 2011, Madrid,Spain Proceedings of the WCRT2011

Che-Bok, IM et Al Development of international training in Asia

5 Conclusion
In the content of the training, we have to consider the
improvement of the training course which can stimulate
trainees. It can be accomplished when we clearly catch
trainees’ needs and adapt it into the course.

Cultural consideration is as important as development

of the training system. Above all, it is important to respect
recipients’ countries and their trainees. A training
manager has to reflect on the philosophy of respect in the
training system.

In the case of the development of the training system,

IRaTCA extended the training period from 2 weeks to 3
weeks and adapted PBL and PMP methods into Team
Project. In the case of cultural considerations, IRaTCA
also placed much emphasis. For examples, IRaTCA has
adapted the Cultural Exchange, the Country Report and
the Volunteer System in order to narrow the cultural
differences gap. Furthermore, IRaTCA has designed a
well balanced curriculum, which consists of lectures, the
technical visit and the team project, in order to make a
interactive learning environment.

Training is not only managing a system but also

building a relationship. In the future, International rail
training can attain the successful result by considering
these two factors - the development of training system
and the cultural consideration.

References
[1] Dong-Sik, Shin, Plan for overseas business of KR.
2009
[2] KORAIL, Benchmarking report for UIC SIAFI training
program. 2008
[3] Woo-Suk, Lee of Jeju Hanra University,
Understanding of PBL method. 2004
[4] Ho-Kwon, Cho, Plan for IRaTCA establishment. 2007

April 6th – 8th, 2011, Madrid,Spain Proceedings of the WCRT2011