Apple's university-style training program is no secret, but details have been sketchy -- until now.

A profile of the so-called Apple University, a year-round training program which allows students to enroll in a number of classes, has now exposed the company's teaching practices thanks to a feature published by the New York Times,.

The college-style training was originally created by late co-founder Steve Jobs and american sociologist Joel Podolny, who also served as an Apple executive. In February, Podolny left this role to focus on Apple University as a full-time Dean.

According to the NYT's sources, three employees who have attended classes -- and agreed to talk on condition of anonymity -- say that art, simplicity, function and beauty are concepts drilled into students who elect to attend recommended courses.

As an example, the iPad and iPhone maker compares the 11 lithographs that make up Picasso’s "The Bull" to the way the firm develops its product lines. In the series, Picasso gradually erases unecessary detail until the last lithograph which is elegant and simple, but still is obviously a bull. The sources say that this kind of design method is key; in the same way that Picasso focused on only essential components, Apple believes that function and beauty come from "elegant simplicity."

Classes are taught at the Cupertino, California campus in buildings dubbed the "City Center," and the rooms are described as "well lit," with attention to detail ranging from trapezoid-shaped rooms with elevated seats to luxury toilet paper. Occasionally, courses are also taught overseas.

Courses are not required, but enrolling is encouraged. Students can sign up for classes on an internal website, and classes are available depending on positions and background. The publication writes:

"Unlike many corporations, Apple runs its training in-house, year round. The full-time faculty -- including instructors, writers and editors -- create and teach the courses. Some faculty members come from universities like Yale; Harvard; the University of California, Berkeley; Stanford; and M.I.T., and some continue to hold positions at their schools while working for Apple."

While one class might teach those specifically working on the Beats project, another could focus on how to successfully merge acquired companies into the tech giant's existing infrastructure.

Randy Nelson, formerly from animation studio Pixar, is a teacher of the "Communicating at Apple" course, which is taught to boost clear communication and the sharing of ideas at the tech giant. In addition, Nelson occasionally teaches the "What Makes Apple, Apple" class. In the latter, Nelson uses the example of a Google TV remote in comparison to the Apple TV remote. Google's remote is equipped with 78 buttons, while Apple's has only three.

The reason? Nelson explained that Apple's designers began with an idea and debated the concept until they had just what was required -- buttons for play and pause, selecting media, and another to reach the main menu. In comparison, the lecturer says that the Google TV remote has so many buttons because all the designers and engineers on Google's project "got what they wanted."

Finally, another course taught is titled "The Best Things," and attempts to integrate a culture which prompts staff to be pro-active in surrounding themselves with the 'best quality' peers and materials, in order to get the best out of them.

Earlier this month , the iPad and iPhone maker said it has created or contributed to over 600,000 jobs in Europe, and over 500,000 of these roles are based on the app economy -- an industry surging in growth due to the popularity of mobile applications.

According to Apple, over 75 billion app downloads have taken place since the launch of the App Store, and European developers alone earn $6.5 billion a year.