Fundação Getulio Vargas has just entered into a partnership with Vale and SAP University Alliances to provide an Integrated Business Management course for free to students and former students of FGV?s MBA programs. The aim is to make executives much better prepared to tackle new business challenges proposed by the market. The course will be supported by the expertise of three large companies in the technology sector, which are partnering with the project: Accenture, Wipro and Infosys. These companies will present how the SAP tool is applied in the business world and, at the end of the course, they will analyze its use at Vale.The partnership was announced at a meeting held at FGV?s main office on Monday, April 25, during which Vale executive director Luciano Siani Pires gave a talk. The executive made an analysis of impacts and opportunities for businesses and managers in current economic conditions. According to Pires, the slowdown of the world economy now obliges companies to use more sophisticated tools, not only to optimize their processes, but also to leverage and strengthen their business.?This partnership is fundamental to us, because FGV is bringing together different experiences, from academia, companies and suppliers. This initiative has enormous potential,? Pires said.Luiz Ernesto Migliora, the executive director of FGV in Company, celebrated the launch of this pilot project. He noted that the course is distinctive and fundamental for students? development. ?Vale presented us with an innovative proposal. We saw an exceptional opportunity to show our students how an Enterprise Resource Planning system works in practice, and how large companies work on this, bringing this knowledge into the classroom.?More than 70 students attended the launch event and applied for the course. Of them, 20 will be selected for the program, based on a Performance Coefficient calculation. The students will begin the 35-hour course in May, with classes on Fridays and Saturdays.According to Alice Mattos, a student on a Financial Management, Controllership and Audit course who has applied for one of the places, taking part in this program would add value to her resume. ?The course is very relevant to me, as I work in the financial area and I want to deepen my knowledge for future opportunities. I am in a career transition process and participating in this course would be fundamental,? she said.Migliora highlighted that FGV believes this pilot project will be a success and it plans to replicate the model in other courses, by including practical classes given by professionals at leading companies.The launch event was also attended by the CEO of Infosys, Cláudio Elsas; Wipro?s SAP practices senior executive partner, Wigor Correia; Vale?s global IT director, Alexandre Pereira; the Brazilian education director of SAP, Isabel Oliveira; the director of Accenture?s Brazilian Chemical & Natural Resources Division, Marcelo Fortes; and the program?s coordinator and FGV professor, Marcus Quintella Cury.