As the global workforce undergoes rapid transformation driven by technological advancements, the demand for new skill sets is intensifying. A recent McKinsey report highlights that surveyed executives express a pressing need not only for advanced IT and data analytics but also for critical thinking and creativity—skills currently in short supply.
Academic institutions are at the forefront of addressing this challenge, tasked with equipping students with the competencies required in a digital-first economy. Recognizing this imperative, SAP University Alliances and HEC Montréal have collaborated to develop Business Builders, an innovative, gamified learning platform designed to help enhance students’ analytical and decision-making skills using SAP Analytics Cloud.
Introducing Business Builders: A gamified approach to make students future-ready
Business Builders is designed to help students develop these high-demand skills in a practical and engaging way. Through real-life business challenges powered by SAP Analytics Cloud, students can learn how to visualize data, draw actionable insights, and make evidence-based decisions in real time.
Used by educators in over 70 countries, Business Builders is free for educators and students. It is designed to be accessible to any classroom—whether in business, STEM, or interdisciplinary courses.
By blending gameplay with professional tools, Business Builders helps address several key pain points in education:
- It can make data and analytics more tangible and relevant.
- It helps foster analytical thinking, data storytelling, and digital literacy.
- It can align directly with the needs of the future workforce.
Whether students aspire to careers in consulting, supply chain, product management, marketing, sustainability, or HR, Business Builders can provide an environment to explore these topics while gaining in-demand skills.
Two new scenarios for a broader audience
Building on the success of three existing scenarios, SAP and HEC Montréal are now launching two brand-new games designed to support even earlier-stage learners: The Agent and The Maple Heir. These scenarios help make Business Builders more inclusive, scalable, and suitable for students age 15 and older and first-year university students. Importantly, no prior experience with SAP tools is required, making it easy for educators and students to get started.
The Agent is an easy-to-use sports management scenario that can empower students to become decision-makers as they take on the role of a sports agent. Through real-world sports challenges, students can develop basic analytical skills using intuitive dashboards in SAP Analytics Cloud. They answer questions like: Which player is the most improved? How can a team optimize its performance? Which sport averages the highest number of followers on social media? What is the value? It’s a fun, relevant, and accessible way to introduce analytics in the classroom—no SAP experience needed.
The Maple Heir, on the other hand, is a scenario that introduces students to the fundamentals of running a business through the engaging story of inheriting a maple syrup company in Quebec, Canada. Students step into the role of a new stakeholder eager to understand and optimize the company’s operations, financial health, and growth potential. From analyzing income statements and profitability metrics to exploring production processes and workforce management, students can gain hands-on experience in making strategic business decisions. The scenario also addresses real-world challenges like seasonal demand fluctuations and business expansion opportunities. By visualizing data and presenting actionable insights with SAP Analytics Cloud, students can learn essential concepts in entrepreneurship, finance, and operations in a gamified, accessible way.
Both scenarios are built with educators in mind: they’re easy to integrate into existing curricula and supported by ready-made teaching materials. Whether in economics, business, IT, or interdisciplinary courses, they can offer an engaging way to make learning stick.
Empowering educators to build the future
The launch of these two new scenarios reaffirms SAP’s commitment to empowering the academic community to build the future workforce—one student at a time. By helping students master analytics tools, hone critical thinking, and gain early exposure to business systems, Business Builders helps ensure they’re better prepared for internships, first jobs, and long-term careers.
In a world increasingly shaped by AI and data, it’s not just about knowing how to code or use a tool—it’s about thinking critically, communicating clearly, and making sense of complex information. With Business Builders, educators can give students a head start in all of these areas.
If you’re an educator looking to enhance your curriculum with innovative, practical learning tools, explore Business Builders today or join one of our virtual road shows to experience it in action and hear firsthand from those already using it.
Thorsten Haas is part of SAP University Alliances.
