Trinity University joined the SAP University Alliance this past summer and is now beginning to implement changes in order to incorporate its resources into the curriculum.

The alliance works through SAP, a German company, in order to provide software utilized in businesses to universities. Along with the software now being incorporated into certain classes, the SAP University Alliance will also help students out of the classroom.

“The alliance is going to provide us with software that we can use in our classes. It’s going to provide us with curricular resources and with a huge network of companies interested in students that know SAP,” said Ruben Mancha, assistant professor of information systems and faculty coordinator for the SAP University Alliance.

Along with conferences and workshops, SAP will also allow students of certain majors, such as business, economics and management, to further their education while still in Trinity.

“It provides certificates with different levels, courses that they can go and take and certify themselves in order to be more competitive in the market”¦ we see two things that it is going to do for our students. First, provide them with basic computer skills, but mostly it is the type of thinking that encompasses the use of this type of software,” Mancha said.

Although currently Mancha is the only faculty member utilizing the software and SAP resources in classes, in coming semesters he hopes to integrate it further into the curriculum for many majors and concentrations.

“This software aggregates all business functions, so students that experiment with and are forced to think in this enterprise, it doesn’t matter if they are from management, human resources, they are going to be able to think of the enterprise as a unit where all the business processes are integrated across different functional areas.”

Dr. Mancha looks forward to other faculty utilizing SAP and its resources in more classes in coming semesters.