In November, Bentley sponsored and hosted an ASUG (Americas' SAP Users' Group) New England Chapter meeting. The day-long meeting provided more than 100 attendees from large local companies with sessions aimed at enhancing and expanding their companies’ use of SAP. The meeting also provided information about SAP’s University Alliance, an organization that supports the integration of SAP into college curricula.
Following opening remarks by Provost Mike Page, Bentley faculty and staff members presented a plenary panel on how industry can build relationships with universities. John Baxter, University Alliances program manager–U.S. East Region, kicked off the panel presentation by introducing the University Alliances Program and describing its benefits to SAP corporate customers. Bentley presenters included Susan Brennan, managing director of career services; Phil Knutel, executive director of academic technology, the library, and online learning; and Catherine Usoff, professor of information and process management. Alina Chircu, chair of the information and process management department, served as moderator.
Beginning this fall, Bentley University required all junior-year business students to take a Business Processes and Systems course that includes the use of SAP ERP software. The initiative builds on more than a decade of teaching SAP to students.
“The requirement is fairly unique among business schools,” says Usoff. “Most members of the SAP University Alliances Program offer elective courses that include SAP. But requiring such a course in the general business core differentiates Bentley from its peers.”
“This effort is ambitious and innovative as compared to other national and international programs,” adds Jane Fedorowicz, professor in the accountancy and information and process management departments. “We have chosen the New England meeting of the Americas SAP Users Group (ASUG) to present this to the SAP community and the local corporations who recruit our students. Giving students hands-on experience with the world’s leading business software demonstrates Bentley’s commitment to enjoining technology theory and practice in the classroom. The campus-wide effort to learn with and about SAP gives our students a special edge in the job market, whether they help configure the software, audit it, or use an ERP to do their job.”
SAP is the world’s leading provider of business software, offering enterprise resource planning (ERP), business intelligence (BI) and related applications and services that enable companies of all sizes and in more than 25 industries to become best-run businesses.
Photo caption (left to right): Jane Fedorowicz; Catherine Usoff; John Baxter; Alina Chircu; and Denise DuPont, ASUG New England Chapter Chair