The Academy of Notre Dame Take Part in Annual Stimulation Competition
- Brionna Hawkins
- Nov 6, 2017
- 3 min read
Rider hosted its third annual ERPsim competition for high school students on Nov. 3, 2017. The competition involved a real-time business simulation game that uses SAP ERP software, which is used by 87 percent of Forbes Global 2,000 firms. The simulation game, developed by ERPsim Lab at HEC Montreal, is designed to be dynamic and fast-paced, so that students can see the results of their decisions and actions immediately.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems integrate various functional areas of an organization, such as procurement, manufacturing, sales, finance and human resources, to provide real-time access to information to enable managers to make effective data-driven decisions.
The Academy of Notre Dame, a private girl’s high school located in Villanova, Pa., is a new member of SAP’s Young Thinker program, an experiential learning program designed to help high school students understand the impact of current technologies in areas such as business process management, with a focus on solution-oriented thinking and collaboration. In search of mentorship for their students, the school reached out to Rider after learning about Rider’s SAP Student Recognition Award program "The simulation game gives students a firsthand experience of what it’s like to manage a company using an ERP system," says Dr. Lauren Eder, Professor of Information Systems at Rider. "They experience the value of having real-time data to react to a marketplace and make decisions. In order to compete effectively, they need to collaborate and use problem-solving skills."
Nine Rider students participated as mentors for the high school teams.The competition included six teams of three who managed a distribution company that buys and resells bottled water to retailers in the same marketplace. Each team was coached by a Rider student mentor who has taken one of Eder's information systems classes to offer guidance, answer questions and encourage them. The simulation ran for three rounds. Each round was 20 minutes, with every minute counting as a day in the simulation. The winning team was determined by their company’s value and profitability at the end of the third round.
David Villalobos, a Rider college student volunteered to help teach the Academy of Notre Damn students how to use the software,"I really enjoyed being able to teach the students of Academy of Notre Dame through a hands-on experience and showing them the many processes and functionalities of SAP. A lot of the students hope to use it in the future, so I am glad I was able to make a positive impact."
Isabel Grullon, also mentored the students and had a great experience,“Participating in the ERPsim HS competition was really wonderful! It took me back to my years in high school. Helping these girls learn how to use SAP, which is probably something they will use in the future was really a fulfilling experience. Seeing their excitement as they competed, made decisions and evolve as the rounds passed was really uplifting.”
Based on the growing interest in this program at Rider, Eder is expanding the ERPsim competitions in the spring of 2018 to include an event dedicated specifically to visiting community college teams. Rider's Global Supply Chain Club has also express interest in having their own competition.
Jaymin Patel who was a mentor at the Academy of Notre Dame explained that is was an eye opener and learned a lot “Being a mentor for high school students from the Academy of Notre Dame de Namurn for the 3rd annual ERPsim H.S. Competition was a very informative and unique experience. This simulation was a great opportunity for students to interact with and learn about SAP and its role in the business world. Students were eager to learn about SAP and were determined to improve their results each round through asking numerous questions and collaborating with their team members. This is an experience I wish I had when I was in high school and I hope this influences high school students to take an interest in business and computers.” Dr. Eder wants her upcoming expansion to the program to continues to teach inspiring business students.
SAP’s software is widely used in the business world, and there is a demand for graduates to be familiar with such software systems in areas such as supply chain, accounting, information systems and marketing. Earning the SAP Student Recognition Award certificate gives Rider students something on their resume that can distinguish themselves from others.
Since 2001, Rider University has been a member of the SAP University Alliance Program, which has a membership of over 3,200 universities in 111 countries worldwide. The College of Business Administration at Rider offers an SAP Student Recognition Award to students who successfully complete three or moreapproved courses using SAP software.
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