OREANDA-NEWS. April 27, 2018. SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced the opening of 11 campus-located SAP Next-Gen Chapters, which will join SAP customers with universities across North America to spur innovation.

These campus outposts will collaborate with more than 500 educational institutions in the SAP Next-Gen program network in North America. The chapters aim to share best practices for educating graduates with SAP skills, while inspiring industries to work with students and researchers to accelerate innovation and insights into the digital future. Additional chapters across the globe are planned to open in 2018.

“Today’s digital disrupters are tapping into the mind-set of academic thought leaders and researchers, students, and startups, and linking innovation to a higher purpose,” said Ann Rosenberg, senior vice president and global head of SAP Next-Gen, SAP. “The SAP Next-Gen Chapters will enable our long-established SAP University Alliances member schools to accelerate the education of next-generation leaders using the latest SAP technologies. SAP customers will be able to tap this digitally educated and purpose-focused talent pool to support how they digitally transform into best-run, intelligent enterprises.”

SAP Next-Gen Chapters in North America are part of the SAP University Alliances program and its affiliated University Competence Center locations at California State University, Chico, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Other new chapters include Central Michigan University, Delaware State University, Grand Valley State University, HEC Montréal, Missouri University of Science and Technology, San Diego State University, University of Arkansas, University of Illinois at Chicago and University of Southern California.

Cross-topic chapters aim to offer the broad range of programs available through SAP Next-Gen, SAP University Alliances, and SAP Young Thinkers. Focus-topic chapters will specialize in specific subjects or purposes, such as digital core with SAP S/4HANA; digital innovation with analytics, machine learning or blockchain technology; the Code with Purpose program by SAP Next-Gen, which fosters a global movement of students to develop disruptive solutions to social problems; innovation methodologies, including science fiction thinking and purpose thinking; #sheinnovates, which opens innovation and technology to young women and girls; and SAP Next-Gen Labs, connecting customers, academia and partners to use SAP Leonardo capabilities for “innovation with purpose” projects that are linked to the 17 UN global goals for sustainable development..