Apple’s first Developer Academy in the US will be in Detroit. Applications will open this week and will be part of Apple’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative scheduled to open this October.
The first Apple Developer Academy opened in Brazil in 2013, with the goal of providing the tools and training for aspiring entrepreneurs, developers, and designers to find and create jobs in the thriving iOS app economy. Since 2013 Apple has opened more than a dozen academies across the world with two more on the way: one in Korea, and one in Detroit. The programme has empowered students around the world with app development and entrepreneurial training, many of whom have gone on to start their own businesses, create and sell apps on the App Store, and give back to their communities.
Across the world, whether students are in Naples, Italy, or Jakarta, Indonesia, academy participants learn the fundamentals of coding as well as core professional competencies, design, and marketing, ensuring graduates have the full stack of skills needed. The curriculum also incorporates Apple’s values throughout the coursework, encouraging students to design inclusively and make a positive impact in the world. Apple offers two distinct training programmes as part of its academy: 30-day foundations courses that cover specific topic areas.
Applications for the first academy cohort in Detroit — Apple’s first Developer Academy in the US — open this week. The academy, part of Apple’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, is scheduled to open this October in a newly redesigned space in downtown Detroit. All Michigan residents 18 and over are welcomed to apply, regardless of prior coding experience, at developeracademy.msu.edu/students.
Antonio Chiappetta; Photo Credits: Apple newsroom
This is Antonio Chiappetta, 25, who was part of the very first Apple Developer Academy cohort in Naples, Italy, in 2016. A computer engineer by training, he was inspired by the hands-on learning opportunities and close collaboration with mentors he met at the academy. Antonio credits his time at the academy with helping him gain the skills and confidence that power his career today:
“The Apple Developer Academy is not just about learning to code. It’s about breaking barriers and empowering students, and has infused me with the enthusiasm and curiosity that drive me today.”
Arthur Motelevicz, Photo Credits: Apple newsroom
For many academy graduates, the community aspect is as important as the hard skills they learn through their coursework. Students have the opportunity to learn from new colleagues from different personal and professional backgrounds, each of whom brings new ideas and life experiences to their app designs and business plans.
Arthur Motelevicz, 36, met his future business partner at the Apple Developer Academy in Curitiba, Brazil, in 2013 — and now counts 11 academy graduates among his 25 employees. After graduating from the academy, Motelevicz decided to dedicate himself to entrepreneurship in pursuit of a new way to mix coding with music via Super Pads, a DJ app.
“I love being able to work with amazing people, learn every day, and experiment with combining coding and music. The Apple Developer Academy gave me the strength to pursue and implement my ideas into something that I will spend my life working on.”
Aisyah Widya Nur Shadrina; Photo Credits: Apple newsroom
Aisyah Widya Nur Shadrina, 23, and her all-women team used the front-facing camera and machine learning on iPhone to create Hearo, an app that can translate sign language into voice and text, providing a more seamless way to communicate with deaf people. This year, Shadrina and her team will attend Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference virtually. She says she looks forward to learning more about new Apple technologies, frameworks, and tools that can help developers build more innovative and inclusive apps.
Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will take place June 7 through 11, in an all-online format. WWDC will feature hundreds of sessions for developers of all ages and backgrounds — including hundreds of current and former Apple Developer Academy students — to learn about the new technologies, tools, and frameworks they rely on to build innovative and platform-differentiating apps and games.
