SAP Africa today announced the opening of eight new SAP Next-Gen Chapter universities in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The main objective is to expand and drive innovation opportunities with SAP customers to help them accelerate into becoming intelligent enterprises. The following SAP Next-Gen Chapters universities are tasked with preparing the future purpose driven innovators for the SAP ecosystem and to accelerate universities across the Sub-Saharan Africa region:
- University of Cape Town
- University of Pretoria
- Cape Peninsula University of Technology
- Catholic University of Central Africa
- Université Aube Nouvelle
- University of Botswana
- University of Ibadan
SAP Next-Gen Chapters operate as lighthouse universities and multipliers of SAP Next-Gen for universities and its affiliated centers locations such as University Competence Center (UCC) and Academic Competence Center (ACC).
Key deliverables for the chapter universities include sharing best practices through connecting industry partners with academic thought leaders, researchers, students, startups, accelerators, tech community partners, purpose driven partners, venture firms, futurists, and SAP experts to reimagine the future of industries with SAP Leonardo, seed in disruptive innovation with startups, and build skills for digital futures.
SAP Next-Gen Chapters will significantly enhance the knowledge and skills levels of participating institutions. This will also contribute towards producing more relevant work-ready graduates and the next generation of digitally competent leaders who can help our customers to accelerate into becoming intelligent enterprises,” said Cathy Smith, Managing Director, SAP Africa.
Chapters universities support other affiliated member institutions in expanding their SAP programs on campus. This will ensure that students and faculties learn about business, technology and innovation using the latest technologies and methodologies. These African chapters universities will be joining other global SAP Next-Gen Chapters that are already in operation. To date there are two types of chapter universities:
· A cross topic chapter is a multiplier across the broad range of program offerings.
· A focus topic chapter is a multiplier in a particular area of expertise.
“The newly opened SAP Next-Gen Chapters will be able to host regional faculty trainings, develop new academic curriculum on SAP Leonardo offerings, and showcase thought leadership on digital business,” said Ann Rosenberg, senior vice president and global head of SAP Next-Gen. “Some chapters will share best practices in linking student projects using SAP technologies to ‘innovation with purpose’ while others aim to foster student social entrepreneurs. All are dedicated to enabling academia as hubs for industry to recruit SAP skilled graduates and to crowdsource insights on accelerating digital innovation linked to purposeful outcomes aligned with the 17 UN Global Goals,” continued Rosenberg.
SAP Next-Gen Chapters will also offer Code with Purpose by SAP Next-Gen hackathons to foster a global movement of students developing disruptive solutions to tackle social challenges; educate students on innovation methodologies including science fiction thinking and purpose thinking; and enable academia to run #sheinnovates events to make innovation and technology work better for young women and girls.
Edited by Neo Sesinye
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