Hamburger University Sydney

Front door of "Hamburger University", Sydney.
Photo by Tom Worthington, CC-BY 2022

Desperate for a coffee in Sydney last weekend, I stumbled across "Hamburger University", collocated with a Mcdonald's cafe in the suburb of Thornleigh. This is the unofficial name for the Charlie Bell School of Management,  a McDonald's Corporation training unit. They also offer scholarships for study at Australian universities. 

Note that "University" for this facility is informal (their logo is made of chips), as using this term officially for an educational institution in Australia requires government accreditation. McDonald's Australia Ltd is a Registered Training Organisation (Number 90820). It can deliver and assess a Certificate II & III in Retail, with four  units of competency in safe food handling.  

Hamburger University?

Athabasca University as announced McDonald’s employees will be able to get a  degree while they work. Many jokes are possible: "Hamburger University", "Do you want fries with that degree?", but this is a worthwhile initiative. The students will undertake McDonald’s Canada Management Development program, and get credit towards a business related degree.

Students are already encouraged to undertake work integrated learning. However, it is extremely resource intensive for universities to vet individual employers, and supervise the students on placements. It is difficult to find employers willing to go to the trouble to be part of the program. It is also difficult for students to make the connection between what they are studying and their work. A program which the employer has which is designed for learning make things much easier.

This is not the first Canadian institution to have an agreement with MacDonald's, Ontario colleges already has a deal.

And there is no risk that if I ask for a replacement MEd certificate, it will not say "Hamburger University". ;-)