For my final semester for Masters of Accounting and ERP systems at Victoria University, a friend of mine recommended the BCO6181 ERP Applications subject taught by the SAP Mentor Tony De Thomasis. I decided to check it out and I got quite a few hits when I Googled BCO6181. LinkedIn, SAP SDN, Facebook, Twitter - BCO6181 was everywhere!
This subject inspired me to author my first SAP SCN weblog and share my positive SAP learning experience. The tag-cloud below includes a collection of the wide variety of topics covered during our 12 week adventure. The most exciting topics covered included Lumira, virtualisation, SAP cloud computing and building a social identity just to name a few.
I opened a LinkedIn account some years ago to stay in touch with one of my ex-colleges – but that’s all I did, created an account with my name and dates of employment. The importance of a real profile including my skills, experience and a recent picture never really occurred to me. Just thirty minutes into the first BCO6181 lecture this semester, I realised my social identity didn’t pass the ‘google test’. I quickly realised I had no social identity at all! I have since updated my LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/pub/mira-zukan/78/11b/b75 and I have started reaching out to build new connections in the hope of building a strong social network and staying abreast of industry trends.
As an SAP newbie, I was presented with several ‘opportunities’ during the semester including the challenge of learning enough SAP Lumira to be confident to present 6 minutes of hands-on capability at the front of the class. As a twist, the ‘no PowerPoint’ policy gave me the opportunity to learn Prezi for the first time. The most valuable lesson I can share about presenting hands-on live at the front of a class – is always to expect the unexpected and have a backup plan when preparing for a presentation. So, my next challenge was to master Screen Recording software so I could record my practical demonstration of SAP Lumira as a backup – just in case if something goes wrong during the presentation. I was fortunate enough not to have to resort to my ‘backup’ but I did see some classmates deploy the safety chute when the network, desktop or battery failed mid presentation. I decided to include my backup video as part of this weblog. So for my next trick, I discovered how easy it can be to embed a video into an SCN weblog. Below is the recording of my SAP Lumira demonstration.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9g35zPPZaBw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
BCO6181 brings together SAP academia and the industry. In addition to the vast industry experience demonstrated by our instructor, we enjoyed a special insight into the SAP industry through world class guest presenters. My favourite was Alfonzo Venturi – the CIO of LeasePlan. We listened intently to insights and guidance for how to differentiate yourself from the ‘average guy’ and get and insider’s advantage when going for a new position.
I am personally looking forward to the upcoming Mastering SAP Technologies event where I will have the opportunity to improve my confidence to meet other SAP and industry experts. Of course, the biggest thrill will be to discuss some topics learnt from the BCO6181 course with the SAP Mentor group. I am told they are a group of highly experienced SAP practitioners who excel in sharing knowledge with the SAP community.
I authored this weblog in an attempt to help the next wave of ERP students enjoy life in the SAP ecosystem. Always try to bridge the gap between SAP academia and the industry in a fun way. Build a social identity, learn to do your own research and reach out to other professionals. Who knows, our social networks may cross in the not too distant future.
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