SRH University and SAP extend their strategic partnership to India

SRH University and SAP SE are expanding their strategic partnership to India. The aim is to link academic programmes more closely with the SAP technology platform, train international talent in a targeted manner and strengthen the exchange of expertise between India and Germany.

The agreement was signed by Dr Thorsten Bagschik, Managing Director of SRH University, and Sindhu Gangadharan, Managing Director of SAP Labs India, in the presence of Jeannine Koch, Member of the Board of SRH University and CEO of medianet berlinbrandenburg. The agreement builds on the strategic partnership between the two companies, which was only concluded in December 2025. The cooperation centres on the goal of counteracting the global shortage of skilled workers. To this end, SAP expertise will be integrated into SRH University's existing study programmes and new study programmes will be jointly designed and developed.

By expanding the partnership to India, both partners aim to qualify top talents from the dynamic Indian technology market for international career paths and also attract them to the German labour market. At the same time, the exchange of expertise between the innovation ecosystems in Germany and India is to be strengthened and potential in India tapped. Bangalore plays a central role in this: the city is considered the technology centre of India and is home to the SAP SE development site, one of the largest SAP locations in the world. The collaboration with SAP SE enables students to work with real technologies, practical projects and industry-specific applications at an early stage. This results in practical educational formats that optimally prepare students for the requirements of the digital economy and open up excellent career prospects for them.

"The expansion of our existing partnership with SAP SE to India connects two of the world's most important innovation areas", says Dr Thorsten Bagschik. "We are combining our practice-orientated German university education with the dynamics of the Indian technology market."

"Companies today are looking for talented people who can bring together processes, data and technology and help shape change. Universities such as SRH University, which integrate SAP skills into their study programmes in a practical way, prepare their graduates specifically for these requirements", emphasises Andre Bechtold, President SAP Industries & Experiences.

The labour market is undergoing profound change: according to the Future of Jobs Report 2025 of the World Economic Forum, around 92 million jobs could be lost worldwide by 2030 due to automation, while at the same time around 170 million new jobs will be created. At the same time, around 39 per cent of the skills required today will be considered obsolete by then. Universities and companies therefore face the joint task of aligning qualifications more closely with the requirements of digital labour markets. This is precisely where SRH University and SAP SE come in with their expanded strategic partnership: Students should already work with real technologies during their studies and acquire skills that companies around the world need.

SRH's CORE principle (Competence-Oriented Research and Education) forms a central basis for this practical orientation. The teaching model is based on project-based learning in small groups in which students work on real-life problems. By integrating SAP content and certifications, this approach is supplemented with industry-specific competences.