The ERP Challenge: An Integrated E-learning Platform for the Teaching of Practical ERP Skills in Universities

This paper investigates the teaching of practical ERP skills to students at German-speaking Universities. The discussion is centred on an innovative teaching concept called “The ERP Challenge”, which was developed to give students a hands-on experience with a commercial standard ERP system (Microsoft Dynamics NAV). The ERP Challenge consists of a business simulation game based on a real-world company case, an e-learning platform and the actual ERP system. The software platform for the ERP Challenge combines these elements in a seamlessly integrated way. We describe the design science process for the development of the software platform, the evaluation process for its refinement and the possibility to provide the solution as a hosted service. The findings from two supporting empirical surveys are presented; these show that the ERP Challenge is perceived as a successful means of providing ERP skills by the students and that the feasibility of a hosted service needs to be carefully examined.