Apple to launch its own ‘University’
Apple has hired the dean of Yale’s business school for its own university. Joel Podolny will take up the position early next year.
The full details of the project, known as Apple University, are still under wraps. The most likely explanation is that it’s a grand name for a staff training facility, either for general education or to train people to advise on Apple products. This could mean roles in the Genius Bars, or perhaps working in electronic stores in the same way as the recently announced Microsoft Guru program.
Another theory floating about is that it will be an enhanced version of ‘iTunes U’, a scheme by which colleges can distribute audio and video lessons to students through iTunes.
Podolny, a former Harvard professor, has most recently concentrated on the role of sociology in business. He’s developed theories about the way perceptions of social status among business people affects competition in the market. He’s also been credited with modernising Yale’s approach to put more emphasis on real-world professional business issues rather than traditional academic theories.
Writing a farewell e-mail to students he talked of programming an Apple II in his younger days and even printing his undergraduate thesis on a painfully slow Apple printer.
Surprisingly there’s no legal or official definition of a ‘university’ in the US, which is why so-called corporate universities can flourish. It’s possible the idea came from Pixar, the firm behind Toy Story and similar movies. The firm set up a staff development program under the ‘University’ name in 2003 when it was still owned by Apple boss Steve Jobs. There are several similar examples, most notably the McDonald’s Hamburger University.
Across the Atlantic, the British government recently announced plans to recognise vocational qualifications awarded by McDonalds, airline FlyBe and railway firm Network Rail, though some universities say they’ll refuse to recognise such qualifications. The UK chain of McDonald’s restaurants also runs online courses for employees in literacy and numeracy.
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