OREANDA-NEWS. The Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI), the University of Potsdam and the SAP Innovation Center Network are planning to partner with the SAP University Alliances program to launch an academic innovation network in Berlin and Potsdam to expand opportunities for the SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) ecosystem to accelerate innovation with academia.

The network is intended to help SAP customers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and beyond to benefit from digital transformation thought leadership of world-class faculties, and to connect with students who, as next-gen designers, developers, data scientists, makers, entrepreneurs and business leaders, can reimagine business with disruptive designs and prototype apps leveraging SAP HANA Cloud Platform, and soon with Apple iOS. The announcement was made at the 21st SAP Academic Conference EMEA being held September 5–9, 2016, in Potsdam, Germany.

“SAP is thrilled to partner with HPI and University of Potsdam on an academic innovation network, and to drive EdTech innovation,” said Bernd Welz, executive vice president and head of Scale, Enablement and Transformation, SAP.

Networking opportunities will be enhanced via new SAP Next-Gen Lab spaces at member campuses of SAP University Alliances globally as well as at SAP locations including Walldorf, and in New York in partnership with HPI.

Prof. Dr. Christoph Meinel, scientific institute director and CEO of HPI, said, “HPI is delighted to partner on the SAP Next-Gen Lab in New York. SAP customers can connect with HPI students on projects in the SAP Next-Gen Consulting program defining the future of industries in New York and beyond including financial services, media, retail and more.”

Prof. Oliver Günther, Ph.D., president of the University of Potsdam, added, “We look forward to sharing insights with the network from our leading researchers in areas at the center of digital transformation including IT strategy, security and privacy, and digital asset management.”

Jürgen Müller, chief innovation officer, SAP, said, “SAP Innovation Center Network will help faculty and students gain insights on enabling the digital transformation of industries with the latest SAP technologies including machine learning.”

SAP University Alliances opens up the world of SAP to more than 2,900 educational institutions in 103 countries worldwide. It aims to develop critical skills for the digital enterprise among academics, university students and young thinkers, and to build the bridge to executives and professionals.