Students at the Wisconsin School of Business are now being exposed to SAP enterprise software in several courses. The business school was recently accepted as a member of the SAP University Alliances Program, which provides SAP software to students while offering curriculum content and training workshops to faculty. SAP is the largest software provider of ERP systems, the core software used to coordinate information in most areas of businesses. About 150 leading universities around the country are members of the alliance.

SAP has been introduced into multiple courses taught at the business school during the spring 2009 semester. Undergraduate and MBA students participate in hands-on SAP lab exercises in Lecturer Steven Boeder’s Production Planning and Control course and Senior Lecturer Pete Lukszys’ Logistics Management and Enterprise Systems and Supply Chain Management courses. In addition to working with Lukszys’ classes, MBA project assistant Mark Dyer has assisted in Senior Lecturer Ann O’Brien’s Fraud Examination accounting course that looks at security and internal control configurations of the SAP software.

The SAP initiative at the Wisconsin School of Business requires extensive cross discipline faculty training and course development considerations. Future expansion within the business school curriculum is being discussed by an active group of faculty across departments and within the Grainger Center for Supply Chain Management and the Erdman Center for Operations and Technology Management.

“The idea is to enhance our curricula by bringing a well-known business software into the classroom to reinforce our teaching,” says Lukszys. “The goal isn’t to become an SAP software training college, but rather to show how information technology can enable integrated business processes and create value for customers. Exposure to SAP is highly valued by many of the companies who recruit our students. The initiative is off to a great start, and there is a lot we can do. I feel fortunate that through the Wisconsin Naming Gift we have funds available for this opportunity.”

Boeder says the main benefit of the SAP University Alliance program is that it enables students to “experience firsthand how organizations operate, and how integrated ERP systems can help organizations become more efficient, productive and profitable. By integrating SAP software into courses, students gain real-life experience that offers tremendous advantage in the marketplace. Career-ready graduates are fundamental for competitiveness and success in today’s global business environment. This is one way the Wisconsin School of Business is helping students develop 21st-century skills prior to entering the workforce.”

Brook Rucinski, an MBA student in Supply Chain Management, was exposed to SAP in the Enterprise Systems and Supply Chain Management course. According to Rucinski, “The integration of SAP with the university will allow me to hit the ground running at my new company. The combination of learning about enterprise systems and application in SAP labs gave me the tools necessary to work on both system integrations and tactical use.”

Those interested in learning more about the SAP University Alliance at the Wisconsin School of Business should contact Lukszys at plukszys@bus.wisc.edu.

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