Karina Edmonds introducing herself to ITP students/staff and faculty
ITP has been working closely SAP for over a decade, collaborating to ensure that our Enterprise Information Systems curriculum is most up-to-date, and to help make sure that ITP students are getting the most industry relevant skills when it comes to Enterprise Resource Planning. On Monday, October 2, 2023, SAP Senior Vice President Karina Edmonds along side SAP Engineering Manager Ralf Geiser visited USC to touch base with ITP's Enterprise Information Systems and Applied Analytics students, to discuss the importance of Enterprise Information Systems in the current tech industry, along with SAP's impact in tech, and the opportunities available for those who want to explore SAP as a career.
For those wondering; "What is SAP?"
SAP is a German multinational software corporation that specializes in providing enterprise software solutions to businesses of all sizes, from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to large multinational corporations. The name "SAP" stands for Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing. SAP is one of the world's leading providers of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software and related technologies.
Every successful business needs a streamlined Enterprise Resource Planning system in place to efficiently manage all aspects of business operations from supply chain management, to data analytics, customer experience, procurement and so on. In short, ERPs aim to consolidate all business data in one place, so that management can make smarter decisions based on real-time information. This is not the only goal of companies like SAP though. SAP makes many investments into varying university programs, clean energy and business operations, and investing into future technologies, including their recent investment of 1 billion dollars to various generative AI startups.
Karina Edmonds discussing the high demand in the ERP space, and what the job market looks like for students interested in working with SAP.
ITP has been working closely with SAP, especially in regards to our Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) minor, as well as some of our 400 level enterprise analytics and data management courses courses.
As a result of collaboration between ITP and SAP, students who earn a grade of “B” or higher in at least three of the classes in either the Enterprise Information Systems minor or specialization are eligible to receive an SAP Student Recognition Certificate. Students should keep in mind though that this is not a certification in SAP; rather it is a certificate that recognizes that the student has completed coursework within the USC Viterbi Information Technology Program that is directly applicable to working with the SAP software systems.
To learn more about the Enterprise Information System minor and specialization, check out the EIS program page by clicking this link:
SAP software permeates multiple sectors of business operations, from the tech industry, to government bodies and academia. The visual above gives just a few examples.
Students considering getting a jump start with SAP can check out the free student resources found on their student zone page here. SAP offers learning modules to get you familiar with the platform, as well as certificate programs and more.
Ralf Geiser discussing the state of SAP, AI and ERPs as a whole, and what students can do to prepare for a career in SAP or related companies
SAP lunch with ITP faculty/staff at University Club