Tech Support

CSU, Chico offers unique programs in new technology, giving grads a competitive edge

By Christine Vovakes

In a small room in O’Connell Technology Center, imposing racks of computer servers hum constantly in the cooled air. Loops of orange, blue, and yellow wires hang in sharp contrast to the dark, uniform racks of servers. A student sits in deep concentration at a laptop in front of the newest rack, working to bring the equipment online. Once it is up and running, it will join the other servers that are enabling universities worldwide to share curricular materials and instructional technology.

This room, called the “Ministry of Data” by students, houses servers for the SAP America University Alliance Program (SAP UAP). A year and a half ago, SAP Americas, a subsidiary of SAP AG, the world’s third largest software maker, named CSU, Chico as one of two campuses in the United States to provide technical and curriculum support for universities around the world. In October 2006, CSU, Chico and the University of Wisconsin became “mega centers” that host the latest SAP software programs and answer technical questions for business classes at universities.

“SAP is the world’s largest business software company,” says Raymond Boykin, associate dean of the College of Business. “We currently host about 100 universities worldwide and have more than 30,000 students each year logging onto our SAP servers.”

The computer servers keep universities in numerous foreign countries and across America, including heavyweights like MIT and Carnegie Mellon, connected to SAP software. Faculty and students use this software in the classroom and for research projects. The program helps university faculty members throughout the world use technology to teach students how to integrate business processes such as orders, sales, commissions, and accounting. Students learn to think strategically and compete globally.

How does it work?
A student in a hosted university logs onto one of more than 50 instances of SAP software at the CSU, Chico site using a password and a user ID. Some classes use the software to explore basic business processes such as purchase orders and sales orders from an enterprise software perspective. Advanced classes present students with problems and cases that they solve by determining how to use the SAP software to support the necessary business processes. This often includes the installation and implementation of SAP software.

Students in the most advanced courses are confronted with complex situations. Boykin describes a scenario: “You’re the information technology manager and have decided to implement SAP. Here’s the description of your company. Develop a project plan, an implementation plan, and configure the software to support this organization.”

Technology is constantly evolving. The massive computers from two decades ago have morphed into slender servers that retain super-sized information files. Tiny portable USB hard drives make transporting those files easier.

“Now you can carry 16 gigabytes in your pocket [16 gigabytes is about 128 billion bits of computer information],” says Boykin, emphasizing that business is dynamic. “It’s changing all the time. In a business school environment, we need to expose our students to the current leaders in business and the current trends. It would be very embarrassing if a business school graduate goes to interview for a job and spouts 20-year-old information.”

Gail Corbitt, chair of the Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems, along with Boykin and five other faculty members, helped bring Germany-based software giant SAP to CSU, Chico. In the mid-1990s, the College of Business faculty wanted to help students understand fully how modern companies run. SAP was looking for an academic partner. Chico pitched a proposal that topped those submitted by several universities, including University of Southern California, Drexel, and DePaul University.

“SAP decided that a university that had a teaching mission was a better fit for them than a research school,” notes Corbitt.

It was two years before another university became a partner and the University Alliance Program was officially established. CSU, Chico’s curriculum plan for the partnership was used as the model for future SAP UAP programs, says Boykin.

SAP software is used by most large companies, including roughly 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies. The software is a single integrated application that enables a company to track all its business processes: orders, completed sales, commissions, reorders, complete accounting details, and more.

Each CSU, Chico business major takes at least two classes that use SAP.

“It’s a major recruiting benefit for our students,” says Corbitt. “Our job placement is virtually 100 percent.”

Amelia Maurizio, SAP global director of the University Alliance Program, agrees. “One of the major goals of the program has been to assist educators in producing graduates who are more technologically knowledgeable and experienced and better able to compete in a global environment,” she says. “We do this by working with faculty to design courseware that incorporates SAP solutions into the curriculum.”

There is such a huge demand for students with SAP skills that it is impossible for supply to meet demand, adds Maurizio. “The students graduating from Chico are knowledgeable, experienced, and in high demand,” she says. “Many are hired by SAP, and on a daily basis, we send requests to Chico from recruiters for our customers and partners who are in need of SAP-qualified workers.”

Victor Chan, a senior associate for the IT Advisory practice in the San Francisco office of accounting firm KPMG LLP, says he was able to apply what he learned into his current work environment. “SAP knowledge is essential to business because so many businesses use it for daily processes,” notes Chan (BS, Business Information Systems, ’04).

Chan says he values the way “Chico State prepares students for the real world with projects and team work assignments. When you come out to the working world, that’s how it is.”

He praised the faculty, saying, “A lot of professors do their research and update themselves in the newest technology. And then they teach it.”

Joshua Wise (BS, Business Administration, ’98) is an enterprise architect for Intel Corporation-SAP Integration Engineering. He explains that an enterprise architect is someone who takes different pieces of technology and makes them work together. His primary job is SAP-oriented.

“When I graduated, SAP was just taking off,” he says. “Now I find lots of people going to Chico to get that background.”

CSU, Chico confers 400 to 500 business degrees each year. Over the next four years, SAP estimates that they will need to generate tens of thousands of SAP-trained professionals to meet new demand and to replace retirees. Boykin is confident that Chico graduates will be prepared to help fill the gap.

“We give our students hands-on learning—that’s why businesses want to hire them,” he says. “Our students have the theoretical and the applied knowledge.”

Going global by learning “local”
The World Wide Web has made it possible to do business across the globe in a matter of seconds. But for those wishing to pitch travel, sales, or services to people in foreign countries, there remain challenges, such as overcoming cultural barriers to communication. This is not as simple as merely translating an English site into a foreign language. A certain color in one country or a phrase in another can create cultural obstacles that play havoc with the best-intended Web presentations.

“Most companies rarely have an integrated global e-commerce approach,” says finance and marketing professor Nitish Singh. “They aren’t able to design and target their Web sites to foreign markets. That expertise is lacking.”

Working with CSU, Chico’s Center for Regional and Continuing Education (RCE), the Globalization and Localization Association (GALA), and the Localization Institute, Singh helped develop the Localization Certification Program. Now in its third year, the program shows businesses and organizations how to “localize their products and services with properly translated messages and culturally sensitive Web sites,” says Singh.

The Localization Certification Program and the Localization Project Management Certification consist of online course work, a three-day onsite workshop with practitioner-led lectures and lab sessions, and a certification exam.

“Localization is important,” says Clare Roby, RCE associate dean. “Marketing research shows that foreigners are more comfortable doing business with Web sites that feel familiar to them.”

She notes that the program’s online portions can be done anywhere via a computer. Participation in the workshop is necessary to complete the course. Students take the certificate exam on the last day of the workshop.

“At this point, we’re mostly pulling in individuals, but we’re growing in the area of group and custom programs,” says Roby.

She sees the certification program as a natural fit for CSU, Chico, which has been a pioneer in distance education. “Regional and continuing education is about expanding the resources of the University to meet lifelong learning needs,” she says. Expanding global trade is an area that “people are going to want to learn about.”

RCE marketing director Joe Picard calls certification a response to an emerging industry. “If I’m entering a market, I want to make sure my message is not only translated right, I want to make sure the colors I use, and the symbols, are appropriate for that market,” he says. “Red means something different to different cultures. If you’re going to have your graphic as a thumbs-up guy, that might not work in the Middle East.” (In Iraq and Iran, the “thumbs up” gesture is considered an offensive insult.)

Jason Arnsparger is a project manager for a medical device company in Colorado. He works in the technical communications department with user manuals and regulatory training material, and he oversees translation of engineering documentation into various languages.

The certificate program gave Arnsparger a new perspective. He sees how the translator works, and that helps him understand that “different types of content have different types of needs,” he says, noting that an operator’s manual would not use the same approach as a Web page.

“You have to be aware of context,” he says. “Translation is not a one-size-fits-all process.”

Building with models
Wood, hammer, and nails are construction basics. Increasingly, so is the latest computer technology.

In a unique collaboration with Turner Construction Company, the Department of Construction Management opened the Turner Building Information Modeling (BIM) Laboratory last fall. “It is the first time we know of that a construction management program has worked at such a highly integrated level with a construction company using BIM technology on real building projects,” says Willem Kymmell, construction management professor.

Construction management students use BIM software that melds architectural, engineering, and construction specifications into a digital representation of all stages of the building process.

Kymmell says that when companies use the software to “build” a project, they can spot problems in the interactive representation, avoiding costly changes later in the building process. Seeing that different aspects, such as the placement of ductwork in the later stages of construction, are going to clash with other parts of the structure allows designers and builders to plan ahead and relocate or resize.

“Suddenly you can see problems and solve them,” says Kymmell, an architect by training, whose book on building information modeling will be released by McGraw-Hill in late spring. “BIM allows people to visualize a project, coordinate it, and communicate it.”

The innovative technology is beginning to take hold.

“Where we’re ahead is in introducing it at the university level,” says Kymmell. “In a few years, everyone in the industry will be on board, and then they’ll be looking for graduates.”

George Zettel of Turner Construction Company says, “This is our first collaboration at such a deep level using BIM.” Zettel emphasizes that students aren’t working on make-believe projects. “These are real-life projects with real problems,” he says.

Zettel thinks construction management students are well served by learning BIM. “It’s going to be a differentiator in pay scale and an advantage in promotions,” he says. “Students graduating with a proficiency in BIM will definitely be in demand.”

Chico grads from the BIM and other innovative programs in various disciplines are enjoying expanded job opportunities. Dedicated faculty and university partners are making it their mission to ensure that new generations of students will not only be well prepared for technical careers after graduation—but also in high demand.

About the author
Christine Vovakes is a freelance writer in Red Bluff. Her articles on the North State often appear in The Sacramento Bee.

Model Innovation

Construction management senior Kevin Brady, a project engineer intern in virtual building with Webcor Builders, constructed this BIM drawing of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission building. The building is going for neutrality on the electrical grid through wind turbines and photovoltaic cells. This is the final submission for 4-D scheduling, 5-D estimating, and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing coordination.

home | current issue | past issues | send an update | contacts
This page and its contents copyright © 2005 California State University, Chico