The SAP Student Academy is a portfolio of SAP E-Academies that have been made available to members of the SAP University Alliance at a substantial discount. The portfolio of courses available offers us a fantastic opportunity to add value to our university courses, and increase the benefit to our students.
Here at Sheffield Hallam University we were the first institution to sign the Student Academy contract; we recognised the benefit to ourselves and our students immediately. Sheffield Hallam has a number of specialised professional master's degrees, that’s how we distinguish ourselves in the ever expanding global education market. We have been able to include e-academies in our courses in a number of ways. Our MSc Big Data Analytics course now includes the SAP Business Intelligence with SAP BW 7.3 and SAP BI 4.0 e-academy. Full time students sit the academy in their second semester, the cost of which is included in their fee. We do ask students to pay the reduced rate exam fee themselves. This ensures that the student is prepared and suitably motivated to pass the certification exam.
Our MSc Enterprise Systems Professional course also has an academy included within it. Again the students sit the academy in their second semester, however with this course the students are able to choose the academy they would like to do from a list prepared by the academics. Once again the cost of the academy is included in the course fee and the exam fee is paid by the students.
Our Engineering School and our business school offer a similar package within their courses, taking advantage of the Financial, HR and Production Planning and Management streams within the Student Academy.
The SAP Student Academy offers us a number of benefits;
- We can include SAP Certification training within our courses with zero upfront outlay.
- We can distinguish ourselves in the global market by offering courses with a significant value add.
- Should the needs of business change, we can easily change the academy meaning we can respond and change faster.
- Our students graduate with both a master's degree and valued vendor certification. Thus vastly increasing their employability.
- We are able to up skill our staff quickly and easily through the Student Academy program.
The Student Academy program offers us significant benefits, Our first lot of graduates will undertake the academy in January 2014 and we are already seeing an increase in enquiries for next year.
Stephen Lofthouse is a Senior Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University and an SAP Mentor. He specialises in business computing and big data analytics. Sheffield Hallam University was one of the founding members of the SAP University Alliance and continues to play an active role in the SAP community, engaging in projects, facilitating internships and promoting rewarding careers for graduates.