Run With Purpose Challenge: Empowering the Young Generation

I am really happy to be part of the Run with Purpose Challenge. Only a few days ago I read the RWP blog of Lindsey Nelson on the Life at SAP Facebook Channel, and thanks to social media communication I am now featured here as well 🙂 .

Who am I?
I joined SAP in 2007 and, since then, was able to experience SAP from different angles – as an apprentice, intern, working student and finally as an early-career professional. Throughout the years I had the opportunity to gain valuable insights into different departments at SAP – both at the headquarter in Walldorf, Germany and also for some weeks at the subsidiary in London, UK.

Since 2009 I am part of the SAP University Alliances team. Our team is responsible for equipping tomorrow’s workforce with the right skillset – the latest technologies and solutions from SAP – by closely collaborating with the university community. Furthermore, we heavily engage with universities and the entire SAP ecosystem to jointly drive co-innovation and research topics, as well as idea and industry contests. Within University Alliances I am working in the area of marketing and communication. This includes amongst other things the organization of events and contests as well as its coverage through various communication channels. So in case a student already wants to get engaged with SAP software before graduating, we’re the persons to contact 😉 .

What makes me Run with Purpose at SAP?
This is a really difficult question as it took a while for me to nail it down to a short paragraph. There are quite a few stories to tell which I could share but I will try to limit it to recent examples.

SAP University Alliances hosts several student events and competitions throughout the year. One event is the SAP InnoJam at CeBIT that is organized by our team for 100 students from all over the world. During 30 hours students get hands-on experience on SAP technologies by developing running prototypes of solutions for real business cases. With the help of Design Thinking and IT experts they have to go “from zero to app”. Another example are the big SAP events like SAPPHIRE NOW or SAP TechEd where we invite students to participate and be part of expert networking sessions to present their results from co-innovation projects. It is a great experience and feeling to see how enthusiastic and focused the students are and that their perception of SAP and SAP’s product portfolio changes – from the old-fashioned R/3 image to highly innovative solutions with a friendly user interface. What makes me run is showing students the positive impact the right software solutions can make to the world and how they can be part of this journey.

Supporting these events also makes a positive impact on my professional life because I can learn a lot from these events as well by networking with various internal and external stakeholders. I am continuously challenged to adapt to a new working environment and can gain valuable skills from subject matter experts from all over the world.

Blog It Forward
To continue the challenge, I am really happy to blog it forward to  Dr. Bernd Welz, Executive Vice President and Global Head of SAP Solution & Knowledge Packaging, who will be sharing his story next week.

If you would like to join in on our conversation, please post a blog with “Run with Purpose Challenge” in your blog title and add the tags “run_with_purpose” and “run_with_purpose_challenge” to your post. Please respond back to one of the following questions:

1.      My purpose in my work is definitely not ___. I tried ___ out and after this experience I realized it really wasn’t for me, but ___ is. (Give an example of something you tried that may not have worked out, or has helped redirect you to work that has been more enjoyable and rewarding for you.)

2.      What inspires you the most about your work right now?

3.      How do your passions contribute to your work here at SAP?

4.      How does having purpose/passions in your work at SAP allowed for success or advancement?

5.      How do you think your work create a positive impact for other people or the world?

6.      What does it mean to run with purpose and how does it relate to the work you do at SAP?

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