Corporate universities were brought into existence to fill out the gaps in the human resource skills that were left by the top management institutes. McDonald's is amongst the first timers; it set-up its corporate university – which is called Hamburger University – in 1962. GE came out with its corporate university, Crotonville, in 1956, which is considered amongst the oldest corporate universities in existence.
The concept of corporate university was an instant success because the institute/training center would focus exclusively and aggressively to meet the human resources needs of their own companies and industries. The sad thing is that business schools have failed to churn out managers and leaders who could fulfill the real world needs of the companies. This is exactly where corporate universities come in!
Wikipedia defines corporate universities as "any educational entity that is a strategic tool designed to assist its parent organization in achieving its goals by conducting activities that foster individual and organizational learning and knowledge. In 1993, corporate universities existed in only 400 companies. By 2001, this number had increased to 2,000, including Walt Disney, Boeing, and Motorola." We can also say that corporate universities are not universities in the strict sense of the word. They focus only on developing and enhancing skills of the chosen candidates at par with the expectations of their parent organisations. These programs may last from a few weeks to a few months, depending upon the intensity of the programme.
An organisation that wants to boost the very performance of its people – the biggest asset of an organisation – may like to consider setting-up a corporate university. If it wants support, it can take help from a training company that has related experience of its industry, and can offer customized content. The training company can set up joint academies with the client and support in devising programmes that fulfill the real-world needs of the company. For example, these programmes are customized for the role holders keeping organisation's demand & industry in focus. These programs also help in the holistic growth of the organisation at all levels. What's more, it's easy to measure ROIs on these programmes. In a nutshell, these programmes define the career path for each role holder, and thus make them more productive for their organisations.
As time passes by, more and more organisations around the world are waking up to the needs of having a corporate university; companies that do not wish to devote time and efforts required to set-up a training center are extending their hands towards the training companies that can set-up joint academies with the client. This way, they just have to be there, watching their pool of talent grow tremendously.
The concept of corporate university was an instant success because the institute/training center would focus exclusively and aggressively to meet the human resources needs of their own companies and industries. The sad thing is that business schools have failed to churn out managers and leaders who could fulfill the real world needs of the companies. This is exactly where corporate universities come in!
Wikipedia defines corporate universities as "any educational entity that is a strategic tool designed to assist its parent organization in achieving its goals by conducting activities that foster individual and organizational learning and knowledge. In 1993, corporate universities existed in only 400 companies. By 2001, this number had increased to 2,000, including Walt Disney, Boeing, and Motorola." We can also say that corporate universities are not universities in the strict sense of the word. They focus only on developing and enhancing skills of the chosen candidates at par with the expectations of their parent organisations. These programs may last from a few weeks to a few months, depending upon the intensity of the programme.
An organisation that wants to boost the very performance of its people – the biggest asset of an organisation – may like to consider setting-up a corporate university. If it wants support, it can take help from a training company that has related experience of its industry, and can offer customized content. The training company can set up joint academies with the client and support in devising programmes that fulfill the real-world needs of the company. For example, these programmes are customized for the role holders keeping organisation's demand & industry in focus. These programs also help in the holistic growth of the organisation at all levels. What's more, it's easy to measure ROIs on these programmes. In a nutshell, these programmes define the career path for each role holder, and thus make them more productive for their organisations.
As time passes by, more and more organisations around the world are waking up to the needs of having a corporate university; companies that do not wish to devote time and efforts required to set-up a training center are extending their hands towards the training companies that can set-up joint academies with the client. This way, they just have to be there, watching their pool of talent grow tremendously.
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