Academics from South Africa and the rest of Africa are invited to attend the first Africa-focused user group meeting of the SAP University Alliances (UA).
The UA User Group Meeting 2008 for SAP University Alliances Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) will be held on 11 and 12 September 2008 in SAP's Global Headquarter Walldorf/Street, Leon-Rot, Germany.
The UA EMEA User Group Meeting is the annual conference for member faculties from all over the world. The event brings together leading educators and experts to discuss new topics on research and teaching with SAP software in universities and higher educational institutions.
The focus of the 2008 User Group Meeting is Africa. SAP Africa is pleased to be given this honour by UA in EMEA and accept responsibility to deliver a truly African User Group Meeting. "Africa alive with possibilities'- is the theme of the User Group Meeting.
The University Alliances in Africa is delighted to announce that the South African Minister of Education, who is also the Patron of the University Alliances in Africa, will be the guest and keynote speaker at the User Group Meeting. The Minister will address a wide range of topics, including, but not limited to: policies and challenges, and policies of the South African education system, investing in Africa's future, human capital development, requisite skills and skills gap.
The meeting will open on Thursday evening, with a keynote address by one of the founders of SAP, Dr Hasso Plattner, and the COO of SAP Africa Mr Maphum Nxumalo. There will also be a variety of presentations on the latest projects carried out by member faculties, the University Competence Centres and SAP. These presentations will also focus on skills, talent and skills shortage under the subject - education our investment.
Also present at the event will be Dr Lisa Seymour, a lecturer at Department of Accounting from the University of Cape Town, who will deliver a paper entitled: "Questioning the University's role in SAP skills shortage: The case of UCT Accounting Department".
Started in the mid-1990s in Germany, the programme now has 700 member universities and colleges worldwide. The latest countries to join are India, Russia and South Africa - which had the full backing of the Education Ministry. The objective of the programme is to nurture talented graduates so they can add value to organisations - in all business disciplines, not just in IT - as soon as they enter the workforce. In order to achieve this, SAP brings universities and other institutions of higher learning, the private sector, and non-governmental organisations together to identify which skills are most needed by the economy and then develop relevant curricula that will churn out graduates able to step into the skills gaps.
Educators learn, teach and research on SAP software, build networks and collaborate within and beyond boundaries using the SAP educational software and platforms as part of the UA.
Member universities on the African continent include the University of Cape Town, University of Western Cape, Technology University of Mauritius and the University of America in Nigeria, the University of Pretoria and the State University of Nigeria. The prospective members of the University Alliances include Walter Sisulu University of Technology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Namibia Polytechnic, and Enkangala Further Education and Training College.
Details about the User Group Meeting and arrangements for attending are available from Max Fuzani, University Alliances Manager E-mail: max.fuzani@sap.com Tell: 011 235 6000
Further information is available on: www.sap.co.za.
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