The spotlight is on Nader Khalifa, Lecturer, Victoria University, Australia.

Victoria University (VU) is a world-class university, ranked in the top 2%*of universities worldwide. It has campuses in Melbourne, in Melbourne’s western suburbs, and in Sydney. It is the first Australian university to deliver an award-winning method of learning: The VU Block Model.

In the Block Model, students complete one subject at a time for four weeks (undergraduate courses), or two subjects at a time for eight weeks (postgraduate courses). It is structured around the idea that deep, active learning happens when students focus on one or two subjects at a time and work in small classes. The model has won awards for innovation and excellence.

VU Sydney offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in accounting, business analytics, enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, and applied information technology.

Dr. Nader Khalifa is a lecturer in the College of Engineering and Science at VU Sydney. He has a PhD in visual analytics via 3D game engines. He teaches cloud application development at the Sydney campus. Bachelor’s degree students in both Information Technology and Business take his Customer Relationship Management (CRM) unit as part of VU’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) block. Among the CRM systems chosen to illustrate his course topics, Khalifa focuses on NetSuite, provided free for classroom use by Oracle Academy.

Oracle Academy: What is your focus of the cloud application development block?

Nader Khalifa: What I’m doing is showing them cloud applications, their structure, how they are developed, and how the business cycle works. I teach the technical aspects of web and mobile app programming, database systems, and also the way CRM systems are implemented in companies.

Oracle Academy: Why NetSuite for CRM?

Nader Khalifa: NetSuite is a full ERP package for the small and medium business (SMB) with a broad range of business functions. It has a powerful, integrated CRM solution. I want them to understand the components of NetSuite, how it works, what it does, how it can be customized, and also how it compares and contrasts to other CRM packages.

Oracle Academy: How do you structure your four-week block on cloud application development?

Nader Khalifa: My students come both from the Business and IT departments. They already have an intensive course on ERP systems. With CRM, an indispensable complement to ERP, I walk them through what different software as a service (SaaS) packages have to offer in customer service, marketing, campaign management, customer segmentation, sales support and other areas.

I then give them exercises in which they have to assemble the business requirements for a small retail company and then break those down into NetSuite’s components and come up with a convincing CRM solution. Working in groups, they have to present and defend their choices to the rest of the class, which then gives feedback.

Oracle Academy: What is their feedback on NetSuite?

Nader Khalifa: The most common response when they finish their exploration is that NetSuite is tight. What do they mean by tight? It means that NetSuite gives them an industry-ready framework for joining a company, implementing the system, and modifying applications tailored to the particular sector of industry. They find that many other packages require heavy customization but that NetSuite’s off the shelf functionality is perfect for an SMB.

Oracle Academy: And how is the job market?

Nader Khalifa: We want them to be ready for the marketplace. Whether it’s NetSuite or other packages, we want the student to be capable of explaining to their future employer the nuts and bolts of the CRM system that they are currently using or could implement in the future.

There’s a wide range of careers available as web designer, web application developer, mobile application developer, cloud consultant, data centre administrator, business analyst. Top students are eligible to take part in a 12-month paid IT internship. Some of them get jobs with Oracle itself, in Sydney or Melbourne.

Oracle Academy: Does VU teach other Oracle Academy courses?

Nader Khalifa: It’s early days, but we are investigating what other resources might be used, database or Java, for example. Right now, we are looking at injecting ERP/CRM apps development at the master’s level too.

The university HR system is now under Oracle’s Fusion Cloud Human Capital Management (HCM). So, there’s an internal Oracle connection impacting teachers and students alike, in terms of streamlined processes, self-service, improved payroll, training and more. We got rid of a myriad of legacy systems and I mention to my CRM students that the same enterprise behind NetSuite is behind Oracle HCM.

Oracle Academy: And what are your interests outside of teaching?

Nader Khalifa: Well, to begin with, I have just received my PhD following submission of my doctoral thesis entitled Visualizing Complex Data in Genomics. Using data from hospitals, I proposed using 3D games engines to make statistical data more visual.

Otherwise, I have my family and also a great love of swimming. On this island, there are plenty of opportunities for swimming. I also love fishing.

Thank you, Dr. Nader Khalifa, for your passion for Oracle Academy and for preparing your students to make a positive impact.

* www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings