The Seidman ERP Program News
Four ERP Students Attended The SAP Deloitte Co-Innovation Event
August 28, 2018
At the beginning of August, four students in the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) program at Grand Valley boarded a flight headed for an insightful and inspiring weekend at the SAP Co-Innovation event in Westlake, Texas.
The three-day event, hosted by Deloitte in collaboration with SAP, brought in 64 students from 16 SAP University Alliance schools across the United States. The ERP program at Grand Valley is globally recognized for providing students with an integrated, cross-functional experience leveraging SAP software. Representing Grand Valley were seniors Courtney Rainey, Emily Owens, Maria Zimmer, and Thomas Luzynski.
The weekend was built upon the foundation of a case competition. Each team had roughly 36 hours to leverage critical thinking, creativity and SAP technology to address a business problem with a sustainable, real-world solution. The students were paired with a senior manager and a GVSU alum in the business technology analyst role to guide them in building their implementation proposal.
When reflecting on the experience, Courtney stated: “The time crunch and presentation definitely put me out of my comfort zone, but it has helped me grow as a student and will benefit me as I become a full-time employee after graduation.”
On Saturday evening, each team presented to a leadership panel consisting of both Deloitte and SAP executives. Throughout the weekend, the students had the opportunity to interview, network and explore Deloitte University. Each of the Grand Valley students also was awarded the opportunity to interview on site. The weekend ultimately concluded with announcing of the winner after a presentation from the top four teams to all of the other students and a leadership panel.
“The event helped me in so many ways,” said Emily. “It led to the growth of not only my network but also my skills. This event challenges not only your knowledge of SAP but also how well you listen to ensure the best solution."
“The SAP Co-Innovation Event puts a sharp focus on ideas and individuals who hold the potential to shape how a business will run tomorrow.” Students qualified by having a 3.4-grade point average or above, extensive exposure to SAP core modules, strong analysis capabilities alongside the ability to effectively articulate their ideas.
About the students:
- Emily Owens: Graduating in December 2019 with a degree in communications with an emphasis in Management Information Systems and her TERP10 certification. After graduation, she will be starting as a BTA at Deloitte.
- Courtney Rainey: Graduating in April 2020 with a degree in Marketing and an International Business minor. In addition, she has her TERP10 certification
- Maria Zimmer: Graduating in December 2020 with a dual major in Marketing and Management Information Systems and her TERP10 Certification.
- Thomas Luzynski: Graduating in April 2020 with a dual major in Management Information Systems and Supply Chain Management. After graduation, he will be starting as a BTA at Deloitte.