Students at Victoria University (VU) will be the first in Australia to access an SAP Next-Gen Lab, with the company establishing a facility on VU’s City Flinders campus.
VU’s Master of Business students will be able to work with SAP Leonardo technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, blockchain and big data, as well as collaborate with industry. The university is already regarded as a leader in ERP systems education.
“We are delighted and honoured that the first SAP Next-Gen Lab will be based at VU. This is yet another opportunity to build on our ongoing partnership for the benefit of our students. VU graduates will have unique skills and industry connections that will make them stand out to business and technology providers,” said Professor Colin Clark, dean, College of Business, Victoria University.
The SAP Next-Gen Lab model has already been successfully established in China, the UK, Germany and the US, and in Victoria, will connect companies with students and graduates who have specific digital transformation knowledge and skills, showcase startups with corporations seeking to seed disruptive innovation, and enable students to work on SAP Next-Gen projects with industry partners including SAP customers.
Leading glass bottle and jar manufacturer O-I Glass, which has 75 production plants in 21 countries, will provide semester one VU Masters of ERP and Business Analytics students with a project task. Simon Cowl, VP, human resources, Asia Pacific, O-I Glass, said, “We believe highly inquisitive, capable and creative minds will genuinely assist in solving real business challenges.”
Bruce McKinnon, head of digital business services, SAP Australia and New Zealand, said he could not think of a more appropriate institution with which to launch the first local Next-Gen Lab.
“By opening new channels for Victoria University’s students to share and collaborate with other thought leaders in academia and industry, this partnership provides the opportunity for them to harness the technologies and innovation driving the digital transformation of industries today. I can’t wait to see the innovations they produce,” he said.
