Melbourne’s Holmesglen TAFE Bachelor of IT degree incorporates SAP software skills training
Sydney, Australia — SAP has today announced that Melbourne’s Holmesglen TAFE has joined the SAP University Alliance Program. The SAP program provides educational institutions with the tools and resources necessary to teach students about integrated business processes and strategic thinking.
Students will be able to gain industry experience by learning SAP software skills using the technology in course work and through internship industry placement, in what will be the first recognised university-level Bachelor of Information Technology degree offered at Holmesglen.
“We have had demand from students to incorporate SAP training into our IT courses. SAP skills are in demand. The program gives our students skills that they can apply in the workforce and increases their career opportunities,” said Anthony Scolyer, Teaching Centre Manager, Computing & Information Technology, Holmesglen TAFE.
“This is the first IT university-equivalent degree that Holmesglen has offered its students. Students studying the Diploma of IT Software Development can credit 18 months of their study towards the Bachelor of IT degree, providing a pathway to a degree program for students who wouldn’t normally have access to this level of higher education. SAP has been involved in developing the new course, which is due to begin in 2009,” Mr Scolyer continued.
Holmesglen expects between 20 and 40 local and international students to apply during the first intake, with these figures set to grow over the next two years.
“SAP has provided the foundation for this course, because it is a leading business management software vendor, which sets the context for what we want to teach our students,” said Mr Scolyer. “We have allowed industry input into the course development and delivery because SAP can advise us on the real industry needs and requirements.”
Two leaders with extensive SAP software knowledge have been appointed internally at Holmesglen to train teaching staff on the SAP software utilised in the course curriculum, with 10 to 12 staff involved in the program in its first year.
“The SAP University Alliance Program is helping higher education institutions develop the future IT workforce of Australia. SAP is committed to helping students develop practical skills that will give them extensive work opportunities when they finish their studies. With a large proportion of businesses in Australia using SAP software to run their organisations, the program will make a significant difference to the future of the IT industry in Australia,” said Bruce McKinnon, Director, Field Services, SAP Australia and New Zealand
The course development will be funded by the TAFE and the software utilised in the course will be hosted through Queensland University of Technology.
The Bachelor of IT degree will be running through the Holmesglen TAFE Chadstone campus, starting in 2009.
