Penn State’s Consortium for Digital Enterprises has its beginnings in the SAP University Alliance Program. The Alliance Program, coordinated by SAP, is an amalgamation of innumerable Educational institutions and organizations.

A brief History

SAP Inc. first approached Penn State’s Smeal College (Department of Business Logistics) in the Spring of 1997 regarding the Alliance Program. However, due to various financial constraints, this proposal was not followed through. In Fall 1997, contact was reestablished with SAP’s new leadership in the University Alliance program. The new proposal was thoroughly studied and by Fall 1998 Penn State joined the SAP University Alliance Program

     

    Technology supporting the SAP- Penn State University Alliance program

    The SAP software is hosted by the University Competency Center at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Penn State students and faculty have access to it.

     

    Salient Objectives and Features of the Penn State – SAP University Alliance Program

     

    • The CODE aims to be at the forefront of education and research in Enterprise Integration. The Alliance program provides Penn State students with access to state-of-the-art Enterprise software like SAP R/3. This will be used to help students build a solid background in the fundamentals of enterprise integration and allied field whilst exposing them to current technologies.
    • This exposure and education will give Penn State students a competitive hiring advantage while giving employers access to well prepared graduates, skilled in the latest concepts & tools.
    • It is important to note that the program is NOT a training program for SAP software. We will use SAP R/3 to teach fundamental concepts related to the engineering and management of supply chains and the use and management of enterprise information systems. The software is not only an excellent tool but the Alliance will help CODE to incorporate the latest requirements and technologies in our curriculum development efforts.
    • The Alliance will also strengthen Penn State’s research in Enterprise Integration.
    • Student enthusiasm and support has also seen the establishment of a SAP Student Interest Group at Penn State.
    • The SAP-UAP, like all EIC efforts is multi-disciplinary and is being run across multiple Departments, Colleges and Locations of Penn State.

    Additional Information

    For more information SAP-Penn State University alliance program, please contact Prof. William Cantor, SAP Faculty Coordinator.