Transferring Software AG Know-how to Universities

September 2008
Transferring Software AG Know-how to Universities
By Jürgen Powik, Director University Relations, Software AG
University Relations.....................................................................................................
Projects Using the Software AG Product Portfolio.................................................................
Software AG-Trained Students ........................................................................................
Recruiting ................................................................................................................
University Relations in Numbers ......................................................................................
Outlook ...................................................................................................................
In a market where IT graduates are in high demand, it is of great strategic importance to any software
company’s future success to establish long-term and trusting relationships with colleges and
universities. Today’s graduates are the IT managers of the future and therefore our customers of
tomorrow -- customers who will choose products based on criteria such as how well they know the
products and how easy it is to recruit trained up-and-comers.
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University Relations
That is why Software AG founded the University Relations department in 2007. The department serves
as a contact point for all internal and external inquiries and is behind an attractive University Relations
Program. At the heart of the program is this:
All Software AG products are offered free of charge
to universities for teaching and research purposes.
In addition, Software AG offers internships and jobs for students, as well as providing support for
Master’s and Bachelor’s theses. During their course of study, interested students can gain practical,
real-world experience in fully outfitted and well-defined projects — an offer that unleashed an
overwhelming demand during its pilot phase in Germany and helped increase awareness of Software
AG.
Projects Using the Software AG Product Portfolio
Software AG offers projects in the area of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), Business Process
Management (BPM), Application Modernization and Database Synchronization -- all of which fully
prepare students for future careers as Database Administrators, Application Developers, SOAArchitects, Projects Leaders, Business Analysts and beyond. Each project addresses both mainframe
and open systems technology. All project participants will receive a Software AG certificate, explaining
the fulfilled task and the specific skills acquired during the project.
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Project Details
One of the offered projects, the SOA Integration Project, focuses on SOA and mainframe
modernization, using a scenario from the tourism and travel sector. There are three players:
1.) SAG-Tours is an international travel company offering sailing trips from ports around the world. For
the booking process, the travel company currently uses a robust and reliable mainframe application
based on Adabas and Natural. SAG-Tours needs to modernize and enhance the system, transitioning
to an SOA. The decision is made to use "webMethods," Software AG’s SOA Suite. SAG-Tours is a
virtual company, represented by the university professor or tutor who defines the requirements
and performs the acceptance test after the project.
2.) System Integrator is a virtual company which is assigned by SAG-Tours to integrate the legacy IT
landscape with various systems using "webMethods" technology. System Integrator is represented by
a group of 10-15 students who compose a real project team. Students are responsible for taking on
all roles for an IT project, e.g., project leader, business analyst, software architect, GUI designer
and quality engineer. The project team is tasked with implementing a solution for SAG-Tours within
one semester.
3.) Software AG is the software vendor, supplying both the existing mainframe application based on
Adabas and Natural and the webMethods Suite to create an SOA. Software AG offers all services
typical for a software vendor, such as support, training and documentation.
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The project idea is delivered as a complete package on two DVDs, containing everything the students
need to begin:
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All software is pre-installed and pre-configured in two virtual machines. Both must be copied to the
institute’s PCs, virtualizing a mainframe and providing the opportunity to gain experience in
mainframe technology even though the university has no real mainframe.
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A Getting Started guide helps make complex technology understandable and comprehensible to the
students. A step-by-step cook book guides the users to a sample proof of concept in the given
environment. Students can use this as a basis for the project, which becomes intuitively feasible.
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The scenario is defined in a realistic manner based on the experiences of application developers
and project leaders in Software AG’s professional services. Fictionalized dialogs between customers
and consultants mirror a realistic requirement specification meeting.
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Useful hints are given for setting up and managing IT projects for teams with more than 8
participants. The package also includes suggestions on how to design activities, milestones and
dependencies in a project plan as well as the roles that should be assumed during the different
project stages.
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The User Guide contains documentation, training material and e-learning for all Software AG
products, useful links, FAQs and much more.
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Software AG-Trained Students
Many students have proven that they can achieve noteworthy results with our software, earning
themselves the coveted Software AG certificates to show potential employers.
Recruiting
Software AG is very interested in maintaining contact with the students after they graduate. As a
result, the company created a community called Software AG Alumni in late 2007. Although the
University Relations Program is still very young, the community is growing constantly. During the
German pilot phase alone, the community grew to more than 130 trained students. Recruiting via this
platform is already showing some initial success for Software AG and its customers.
University Relations in Numbers
Since 2007, during the pilot phase in Germany, the University Relations department contacted 174
professors, bringing awareness to 72 universities. Currently Software AG’s software is in use at 51
universities. More than 1,500 students benefited from University Relations Program, with
approximately 180 students actually trained on Software AG products.
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Outlook
After the successful start in Germany, Software AG’s University Relations Program will be rolled out to
a greater extent. A variety of projects will be offered and the academic developer community will be
promoted via the Software AG Alumni portal. The program will also start to go global in the beginning
of 2009. The initial focus will be on Brazil, South Africa and Bulgaria, with further countries to follow in
the second half of 2009.
“If we are to ensure the success of the next generation workforce,
corporations and higher-education institutions must collaborate to create and deliver businessrelevant curriculum. Software AG’s University Relations Program is a right step in the right direction,
offering an elaborate and mature bundle of technology and accompanying material for the
instantaneous adoption in university’s curriculum.”
Prof. Dr. Krallmann, Technical University of Berlin
For more information,
please visit www.softwareag.com/university
or write to university@softwareag.com.
Jürgen Powik will be happy to answer
your questions.
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