I have been a – more than satisfied - member of the SDN/BPX community for three years (February 18th 2004) now. However I have always thought that a specific section for the HE&R “Industry” would be, for me, the cherry on the pie.
Why is that? Is the current content on SDN/PBX not good enough? Sure, the usual ERP suspects like HCM (HR), Financials, Logistics, etc. are extensively covered. But in my “industry” there is a need for more. SAP offers a set of industry specific solutions, applications, and services for my branch. You all know it by the name of Campus Management. This student information system has become an important management tool that enables one to be more effective, more competitive, and is becoming a crucial tool for supporting change in the world of higher education and research. Many of you will surely know that in this domain there are also government rules and requirements, not only local but also cross Europe (e.g. the Bologna agreements).
The Katholieke University Leuven - the oldest university of the Low Countries – has been participating in this Higher Education and Research sector for a long while now.
We went live on SAP Campus Management with IS-HER-CM in July 2003. So far we have implemented things like academic structure (including publication on the Web of the Program Guide), student administration (including registration and re-registration via the Web), planning of the academic year (including publication of schedules on the Web), student accounting, advanced stage auditing, examination processes and much more.
All of this does not live in it’s own separate cocoon but is tightly integrated with SAP’s Human Resources and mySAP Financials, including Real Estate, and reports using SAP’s Business Information Warehouse.
Studying at a Higher Education Institute was never as easy and flexible as in these days where the emphasis has shifted towards student-centric lifelong learning. Some of you might remember the movie clip I showed a couple of years ago on how the manual registration process and handout of the syllabi went at the K.U.Leuven. The present-day student barely needs to leave his chair these days in order to (re)register and to make his choice from the rich offer.
All of this doesn’t come automagically though. A lot of blood, sweat - I’m writing this while its 28 degrees Celsius - and yes, even tears, are sometimes needed to achieve all this. At times it resembles rocket science and, let’s face it, SAP software isn’t always flawless and sometimes drops a stitch. Knitting with a 2.5 isn’t always that easy 🙂
That’s why there is something called the SAP Developers Network (SDN) and the Business Process Expert community comes in. They’re not exactly the Phildar and Rowan knitting club, but they will help you to achieve your goals in different ways.
SDN and PBX offer you access to
- expert blogs, articles, white papers, and how-to guides
- moderated forums
- software downloads
- an eLearning catalog
- a Wiki
It’s not a one way communication path though. It is all dependant on your valuable input. It’s all about sharing knowledge and expertise. You can do this by writing your own blogs, articles or wiki posts. You can also participate in one of the > 110 forums where you can post a question or an answer.
Nearly all aspects of SAP are covered in the above. I say “nearly” on purpose, since people in the HE&R branch need to find their own way in this jungle. It’s clear that our industry has their specific needs, requirements, problems, solutions, etc and is thus in need of a proper channel of communication. From now on this will be covered by the "Higher Education" Industry Community on BPX. The Business Process Expert Community can help define the role, or roles, of business process experts who will bridge the gap between business users and technology professionals.
Wait a minute. What about the HERUG? The overall mission of the HER User Group is to “foster the development and more effective delivery of SAP functionality to the higher education and research community and to act as a liaison between SAP and HER Member Institutions and between the Institutions themselves”. Doesn’t the HERUG makes SDN/BPX obsolete or vice versa? I don’t think so. As with other user groups like the America’s SAP Users’ group (ASUG) there is proof that there is a definite need for both channels which and are not, mutually incompatible.
I’m very excited by the launch of a "Higher Education" Industry Community on BPX and I hope that you will be too.
