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SAP Employees Around the World Step Forward to Boost Innovative Spirit of Children |
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SAP Staff to Help 700 Youths in 19 Countries Unleash Creative Potential in FIRST LEGO League
WALLDORF, Germany - July 18, 2005 - SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced the overwhelming response of its employees joining in the FIRST LEGO League (FLL), a hands-on robotics program developed by The LEGO Group and U.S.-based nonprofit organization FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). In joining the program, SAP took the opportunity to create its first worldwide employee volunteer initiative—fostering creativity, thirst for knowledge and teamwork among today’s youth. The initiative is off to a successful start with 170 SAP employees stepping forward to participate as coaches and mentors for a total of 700 children.
Among a total of 7,200 FLL teams competing worldwide in the initiative, SAP is contributing 85 teams in 19 countries as follows (number of teams in parentheses): Germany (32), United States (11), India (10), France (4), Japan (5), Israel (3), Korea (3), Mexico (3), China (2), Denmark (2), Singapore (2), Switzerland (2), Austria (1), Belgium (1), Canada (1), Norway (1), Sweden (1), Taiwan (1), and United Kingdom (1).
The initiative provides an opportunity for SAP employees to engage with their communities to help children recognize and develop their own innovative skills. The FLL program combines science and fun by engaging children and teenagers aged 10 to 16 in robotics design, scientific research, and tournament competition. It is designed to instill enthusiasm for science and technology in the next generation, encouraging children to examine and explore their own creativity while working in teams.
“The natural curiosity and creativity of youths as well as their teamwork abilities are critical qualities for developing innovative solutions to challenging technology problems and opportunities,” said Jens Maibom, vice president, The LEGO Group. “The FIRST LEGO League mission is to inspire youngsters around the world to work together, use their creativity, and engage in real-world problems and opportunities. With its strong focus on innovation, technology and education, SAP is an optimal FLL partner, and we are pleased to see the resounding response of SAP employees around the world stepping forward to embrace this mission.”
“FIRST is proud to join efforts with SAP to encourage students’ interest and participation in science and technology,” said Anna Maenhout, director, FIRST LEGO League. “Through this exciting employee initiative, SAP volunteers have a unique opportunity to share in the teamwork, leadership, creativity and spirit of FIRST LEGO League, while making a difference in the lives of children. We are thrilled to welcome SAP and its employees to the program.”
Each September, FLL teams across the world take on a challenge to strategize, design, build, program, test and refine a fully autonomous robot capable of completing the various tasks using the LEGO MINDSTORMS™ technology. In doing so, they also search the Internet, consult with their team mentors, talk to scientists and visit the library to develop compelling research assignment presentations relating to a problem or opportunity facing the world today. SAP supports the SAP teams participating in the global initiative by providing the necessary LEGO equipment and field set-up kit.
The theme of this year’s robot competition is “Ocean Odyssey,” offering children the opportunity to explore the riches of the world’s oceans and appreciate the importance of preserving them for future generations. The official start of the competition is September 17, 2005, when the teams will receive their official challenge. Regional tournaments will take place from November 2005 to February 2006.
“As a global information technology leader, SAP recognizes and embraces its responsibility to contribute actively to society, fostering advances in education, technology and innovation,” said Claus Heinrich, executive board member, SAP. “Through our participation in and support of FIRST LEGO League, SAP seeks to cultivate the innovative spirit of children, helping youngsters develop their own skills, creativity and solutions in working toward a better tomorrow for themselves and their communities.”
For more information on the FIRST LEGO League, visit: www.firstlegoleague.org/. Further information on SAP’s corporate citizenship initiatives can be found at: www.sap.com/press/factsheets
About SAP
SAP is the world’s leading provider of business software solutions*. Today, more than 27,000 customers in over 120 countries run more than 91,500 installations of SAP® software—from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small and midsize businesses to enterprise-scale suite solutions for global organizations. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver™ platform to drive innovation and enable business change, mySAP™ Business Suite solutions are helping enterprises around the world improve customer relationships, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across their supply chains and business operations. SAP industry solutions support the unique business processes of more than 25 industry segments, including high tech, retail, public sector and financial services. With subsidiaries in more than 50 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol “SAP.”
(*) SAP defines business software solutions as comprising enterprise resource planning and related software solutions such as supply chain management, customer relationship management, product life-cycle management and supplier relationship management.
About The LEGO Group
The LEGO Group is a privately held, family-owned company, based in Billund, Denmark. It was founded in 1932 and today the group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of play materials for children, employing approximately 7,400 people globally. The LEGO Group is committed to the development of children's creative and imaginative abilities. LEGO products can be purchased in more than 130 countries. (Additional information at )
About FIRST
Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people, their schools and their communities. Based in Manchester, NH, FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology and engineering. With the support of many of the world’s most well-known companies, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST Robotics Competition for high-school students and the FIRST LEGO League for children 9-14 years old (10-16 outside the US and Canada). To learn more about FIRST go to www.usfirst.org.
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