Project description

For the digitization of administrative support processes, universities need future-proof technology platforms that support the specialized procedures and processes. TU Dortmund University, WWU Münster and six other universities in North Rhine-Westphalia are therefore tackling the challenge as a consortium to migrate the SAP ERP systems currently in use to the technologically up-to-date SAP platform S/4HANA for further digitization. At the same time, other universities such as the Hochschule Ruhr West want to use a standardized SAP S/4HANA system for university administration in the future.

As a cooperative project, SAP.nrw is to create a uniform SAP S/4HANA reference template that is as standardized as possible in order, on the one hand, to enable all participating universities to migrate to the new S/4HANA platform with as little effort as possible. Furthermore, in the medium to long term, this will create the possibility of making future developments available once for all participants, as well as making the new entry into SAP low-threshold for other universities.

The project is part of the agreement on digitization (VzD) and is supported by the Digital University NRW (DH.NRW).

Project duration

Project start: 01.07.2022
Project end: 31.12.2025

Universities involved in the project in the consortium:

TU Dortmund University (consortium leadership and project management), University of Münster (project management), German Sport University Cologne, Hochschule Ruhr West of Applied Sciences, TH Köln, Bielefeld University, Duisburg-Essen University, Siegen University, University of Cologne.

Project objectives

The objectives of the SAP.nrw project are:

• to create an SAP.nrw reference template under the leadership of the project-leading universities in close, joint exchange with all participating universities in the consortium and to make it available for local implementations
• to carry out the productive rollout on the basis of this reference system, including the necessary localizations, at the four early adopter universities (TU Dortmund University, WWU Münster, German Sport University Cologne, Hochschule Ruhr West) by 01.01.2025
• Align the reference template largely with the SAP standard
• establish NRW process standards through standardization based on best practice approaches to enable cost-effective joint further development
• to create the prerequisites for cost-effective joint operation by using modern and scalable operating and infrastructure standards.

Additional project aspects

As part of the local implementation at Dortmund Technical University and the German Sport University Cologne, a preliminary study on the migration process was carried out. The aim was to evaluate possible migration scenarios for the transition from the existing SAP system to the future SAP S/4HANA, taking into account the project-specific conditions.

Following the preliminary study, both universities decided to expand their respective localisation projects to include an additional sub-project on ‘overall migration’, to be carried out in collaboration between the two institutions. Key aspects of this approach:

• Carrying out a complete migration of the existing system and data landscape as part of the implementation project
• greater initial project effort in preparation and execution
• in return, a significant reduction in long-term parallel effort
• Avoiding several years of parallel operation of legacy and target systems
• Faster consolidation of processes and data sets in the new S/4HANA system

At Dortmund Technical University and the German Sport University Cologne, the respective go-live dates – i.e. the switch to SAP S/4HANA as part of the overall migration – are scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.

Project extension / Application for extension of the NRW project

In addition to the original SAP.nrw project, an application for an extension was submitted in 2025. This was prompted by the additional costs arising from the further development, quality assurance and stabilisation of the SAP S/4HANA reference template.
The application for an extension is aimed in particular at achieving the following objectives:

• Funding for additional costs associated with the further development and maintenance of the reference template
• Ensuring that the reference solution remains operational and usable for the participating universities until mid-2026
• Supporting the consortium universities in the continued use and implementation of the reference templateFunding for additional costs associated with the further development and maintenance of the reference template

The application for an extension has been approved.
The project duration for the extension will now end on 30 June 2026.

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