3 rd International Conference on Enterprise Systems and Accounting (ICESAcc’06) 26-27 June 2006, Santorini Island, Greece 185 Project-based Learning as a Teaching Method for ERP Systems Vassilis C. Gerogiannis 1 and Panos Fitsilis 2 Department of Project Management, School of Business and Economics, Technological Education Institute of Larissa, Greece 1 gerogian@teilar.gr, 2 fitsilis@teilar.gr Abstract Project-Based Learning (PBL) provides students with experiential learning opportunities to actively develop their knowledge and experience, as they cooperate in group projects. The current article presents how a PBL “compliant” educational approach is applied to an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) undergraduate-level course that is offered in the curriculum of a project management department. Introduction of a PBL approach into an ERP course is justified by the inherent diversity and the interdisciplinary nature of ERP systems as well as the learning requirement from students to develop a broader and deeper understanding of how enterprises operate, implement and utilize technology to improve their operations. Keywords: project-based learning, enterprise resource planning systems, project management education. 1. Introduction The Project-Based Learning (PBL) educational approach involves students in their own learning (Reeves & Laffey, 1999; Fincher et al., 2001; Janeck & Bleek, 2002; Strand Norman et al., 2004). Students develop cognitive and interpersonal skills, as they work in cooperative group projects. They follow steps of well-structured projects coping with real world issues and practices (Lerner, 1995; Bowen, 1998). PBL shifts the emphasis away from traditional teacher-centered approaches to student-centered teaching and cooperative learning. A typical PBL implementation can be applied during the regular period of an undergraduate semester course (14 weeks) and ends with the final project result (deliverable) that can be a software product, a technical report or a multimedia presentation, which demonstrates the degree of learning assessment of students’ teams (Druit, 1995; Moursund, 1999). An important factor that influences the success of PBL implementation, especially into information technology and business management courses, is the degree that the established conditions of collaborative, project-based learning simulate the nature of real working conditions and procedures of today organizations/enterprises (Kay et al., 2000; Shtub, 2001). The nature of work within most modern organizations is moving from individual assignments