BT plans to found its own academy

British Telecom is considering plans to establish an academy of training and research centres.

"We have a big commitment to investing in training and development," said a spokesman. "This proposed superstructure will make better use of our resources, although we would hesitate to call it a corporate university and there is no question of BT adopting academic titles."

The company runs a management training centre in Milton Keynes and a technical college in Stone, Staffordshire.

It has partnerships with several universities, including Nottingham and the London Business School.

Last April, British Aerospace established its corporate university offering awards from national vocational qualifications to PhDs. The qualifications are awarded in partnership with existing universities.