3rd year students in Information Systems, UCT.
3rd year students in Information Systems, UCT.

Integrated Enterprise Systems (ES) courses are a meaningful supplement to business and IT study programmes at universities. These courses provide a comprehensive understanding of business processes and enterprise systems. Beyond that, specific application knowledge of SAP ERP software is highly relevant for all fields of business activity of the most diverse enterprises. Enterprise systems qualified personnel are in high demand and are particularly sought after by organizations - this education therefore enhances student marketability and prepares students for project and management positions in complex working environments. 

ESEFA partner universities across Sub-Saharan Africa have integrated the ESEFA curricula into existing study programmes and also offer a 5-day short course ‘ES Fundamentals for Business’ to students.

Ms Anjali Ramburn (UCT) teaching lecturers Dr Tumsifu Elly (left) and Mr Victor Wilson (right) both from UDSM, July 2014.
Ms Anjali Ramburn (UCT) teaching lecturers Dr Tumsifu Elly (left) and Mr Victor Wilson (right) both from UDSM, July 2014.

The short course exposes students to integrated business processes through its workshop-based teaching.  Students get hands-on experience on the latest SAP ERP system where they are able to run similar transactions as would occur in a usual business scenario. These practical workshops also contain exercises that draw on students‘ enterprise systems knowledge and encourage them to think about what levels of data are required and produced as they transact on the ERP system fulfilling these business processes.

Students are able to take an optional ‘ES Fundamentals with SAP’ qualifying examination at the end of a course.  SAP University Alliances (SAP UA) issues proficiency certificates to students who successfully pass the examination. These certificates give students a significant advantage in the job market. 

Students may attend these courses and write the examination if they are registered students at a recognized tertiary institution and up to three months after they have graduated from a tertiary institution.  Students from any university may attend the short course at an ESEFA partner university in their region.