Samir Rajpurkar, Head of Information Technology at Standard Chartered Bank, gave the lecture "Innovation in the Banking Industry and the Role of Emerging Information Technologies" at American University of Sharjah (AUS) yesterday, Wednesday, November 23, 2011 in the university's Lecture Hall A.

Rajpurkar told the audience, mainly from the university's School of Business and Management, that strategic adoption of new and changing information technologies is vital to competitive success within the banking sector.

"Rapidly evolving wireless technologies allowing banking through your phone heightened the need for stronger security to guard investor assets," said Rajpurkar. "The adoption of cloud computing and multinational and multicultural banking demands are all challenges a bank must face in this evolving competitive landscape."

Rajpurkar heads the Information Technology for the bank's west region. Based in Dubai, he is responsible for technology management across Middle East, Pakistan, Africa and Americas. He has over 17 years of work experience with Standard Chartered Bank. Before coming to Dubai, he was stationed in Singapore and was responsible for developing Internet- and mobile-based applications for Standard Chartered.

The event was organized by the AUS Department of Management Information Systems in cooperation with the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs.