SAP announced a new global program that aims to provide comprehensive support for students who want to start businesses that develop real-time solutions and Big Data applications.
Participants in the entrepreneurship program will receive support in developing new applications on the SAP HANA platform. The students will be able to use SAP software free of charge to develop applications and will be assisted by SAP experts. A comprehensive training program will provide the necessary technical background on SAP HANA as well as SAP® Mobile Platform. Students will also be trained in design thinking methodology to help them along the process from an idea through to the finished product.
Once students have set up their business, they can participate in the SAP Startup Focus program and receive free-of-charge technical support, consulting and marketing services from SAP. The company will also assist with the market launch, provide access to the SAP partner network and offer opportunities to participate or hold presentations at events organized by SAP or other manufacturers. To open up new sources of funding, young entrepreneurs will receive access to SAP Ventures, the independent venture capital firm affiliated with SAP, and other venture capital companies.
“For a market leader in software, a high priority is strong entrepreneurship to foster the development of the most dynamic, innovative, high-quality software in the world,” said Bill McDermott, co-CEO and member of the Executive Board of SAP AG, and executive ambassador of the new program. “We want to create a community in which millennials are empowered to dream big and point the way to a future in which mobile-enabled organizations leverage social data in real time and create exceptional experiences for their customers. The student entrepreneurship program will nurture this.”
SAP plans to roll out the program first in Europe and later in Asia and the U.S., and aims to win 100 universities as partners by the end of 2014. Leading universities worldwide have already expressed interest in supporting 10,000 potential student entrepreneurs as multipliers and by developing relevant curricula.
The new entrepreneurship program is part of the SAP® University Alliances program, a global initiative with nearly 1,500 member institutions in more than 80 countries. SAP University Alliances is aimed at universities and vocational schools that want to actively integrate SAP software into their teaching. SAP promotes real-life, future-oriented training through the program by making the latest SAP technology available to lecturers and students worldwide.
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