Additional programs for "Enterprise Resource Planning", (ERP): An exclusive pilot project by the Department of “Information Systems for Production and Operations Management” in cooperation with SAP University Alliances (SAP UA)
Industry has been complaining for a long time that a university degree does not prepare students for real problems and tasks for their future professional life. University focuses on teaching theoretical and methodical knowledge, knowledge being beneficial over a long period of time; however, it may not help much to solve tangible problems at work. At work one requires skills and competencies in addition to subject-matter knowledge.
Surveys have shown that students acquire competencies when confronted directly with problems which they have to solve independently. The learned competencies have a lasting effect and can be used to solve new problems. It is, however, necessary that the student engages with the subject intensively. Self-directed, situational learning (i.e., dealing with real problems based on case studies) is seen to specifically foster competencies; it facilitates generalized knowledge acquisition. Generalized knowledge, i. e., situated knowledge which has been developed through abstraction from individual experience, always has a direct link to an actual situation in contrast to pure abstract knowledge. It is of utmost importance to encourage students to regularly reflect on experiences which they gained in the practical study of the topic.
E-learning-courses, which are didactically well-prepared and based on case studies, can convey generalized knowledge. Therefore, our goal in designing the erp4students course program was to go far beyond teaching pure subject-matter knowledge: we developed a program of well coordinated courses to enable students to act adequately in complex future work tasks. The learning environment supports and stimulates competence development of students.
erp4students is a program, consisting of extra-curricular courses, developed in Germany at the University Duisburg-Essen, and is offered exclusively to students. It offers students the opportunity to engage intensively with the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) topic while at university and to gain relevant competencies. Students will thus acquire a clear competitive edge on the job market in comparison to other graduates.
The students work online within a "living" SAP-system to enhance their practical competencies of the acquired, theoretical ERP knowledge. The erp4students program contains a range of courses which are aimed at the different aspects of products by SAP AG. The courses offered in the erp4students program are in parts directly based on each other. The course Integrated Business Processes with SAP ERP (TERP_10) is the common denominator and basis of all further SAP knowledge. The illustration below gives an overview of the whole program. (The grey areas are only available in German at the moment.)
- Business Intelligence
- Customizing of ERP-systems
- ABAP-Programming
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Manufacturing (PPS)
Finally, the students have the opportunity – after successfully completing the courses – to take the official SAP certificate exam in addition to the university certificate. Further information about exam dates and locations can be found in the relevant course information.
erp4students comparison
The main focus of learning in erp4students is on the practical application of theoretical knowledge, unlike the primarily theoretical focus of university learning. The students have for this purpose full access to a current, original, and living SAP system via the internet. The environment is true to a real world situation and the students are asked to solve "real" problems just as they would occur in a professional setting. While the students work in the SAP-system (which is available 24/7) they are actively and individually supported in their solution finding by tutors. Different to other standard e-learning scenarios (e.g., CBT), the students are not left to their own devices. The well-trained tutors (SAP certified) are available on each day of the course (also on weekends) and guarantee short reaction times. Therefore, there are hardly any time gaps while working in the living SAP-system which enables uninterrupted, interactive, and course-related work.
The erp4students course approach is also different to the one taken by Classroom Trainee courses (face-to-face course). The erp4students participants have per course 4 1/2 months to gain experience in a living SAP-system instead of the standard 10 days which is the norm for face-to-face courses, limiting the maximum of time for practical work in SAP. Furthermore, the case studies provided by us are far more comprehensive which allows the students to have a more detailed and intensive experience of the system to gain relevant competencies.
Summary
The erp4students program offered by us enables students to not only gain well-founded and broad theoretical and methodical knowledge by using the SAP software practically, but they also learn in-depth, concise application know-how and problem solving competencies during their time at university. This gives the students the necessary competencies to use standard business software when leaving university without protracted on-the-job training. Such an additional education in the field of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) increases the graduates' competitive edge in the job market.
About Us
The concept includes the broad experience of the chair in "Information Systems for Production and Operations Management" (WIP) at University Duisburg-Essen: Prof. Dr. Heimo H. Adelsberger, Head of the Chair, is mainly responsible for the courses. He has more than 25 years teaching and research experience in the field of integrated information systems: He was professor for "Computer Science and Industrial Engineering" at Texas A&M University, professor for "Datamatintegrerede Informationssystemer" at the Technical University of Denmark in Copenhagen, and for 15 years has been the professor and head of the chair for "Information Systems for Production and Operations Management" at the University Duisburg-Essen. The Adelsberger chair has been one of the first who used SAP-software in teaching on a regular basis; SAP-software related topics have been the focus of bachelor and master theses. Many previous students work today for SAP AG or are consultants in the ERP field.
Additionally, "computer supported learning" has been the main focus of the research and development work of his chair for the past ten years. The focus is on "empirical educational research", "quality management and standardization of e-learning", "theoretical and empirical research of blended-learning", "didactic analysis of e-learning processes", "competencies research", and the "research and classification of collaborative learning scenarios for e-learning arrangements."
National and international projects, focused on e-learning, supported and managed by the chair of Professor Adelsberger, are:
The experience and success of Adelsberger's chair in the context of e-learning can be proven specifically by the internet-based further education Master of Science degree program in Information Systems VAWi (Virtueller Weiterbildungsstudiengang Wirtschaftsinformatik).
This masters degree program was designed and implemented in a joint university project lead by Adelsberger's chair at University Duisburg-Essen: A curriculum was developed initially; innovative and collaborative teaching and learning methods were then selected and tested thoroughly. Finally, VAWi was established 2001 in the regular university program at the Universities Duisburg-Essen and Bamberg as an internet-based further education degree program. VAWi, with currently approx. 400 students, is the most successful, internet-based, university master degree program in German-speaking countries.
The first "test run" of an SAP course was held as part of this further education program in the summer semester of 2006 with great success! erp4students has then been developed step-by-step over the following years: in the meantime more than 1,250 students successfully passed the SAP TERP10 certification exam!