Not many of you know this, but Apple has its own school. Yes, with beautiful Silicon Valley-style physical campuses all over the globe with top instructors, million-dollar classrooms, and mentors from Cupertino supporting you.
Most people know Apple for Steve Jobs, their impeccable designs, and elegantly easy-to-use products like the iPhone, iPad, and Macbook. But surprisingly, not many people know enough about their educational initiatives.
One of these is the Apple Developer Academy, which is a highly exclusive almost not heard of 1-year training program designed to train the next generation of app developers, designers, and entrepreneurs.
The best part? It’s free of cost. Yes, you read that right. The program is free and it even pays you. We’ll talk more about that part later.
A little bit of history, the first academy opened in Brazil in 2013, then more across different cities in Brazil, then Italy, Indonesia, and now one in Korea, and one in Detroit, Michigan.
The program empowers students around the world with app development and entrepreneurial training, with the goal in mind of helping students start their own businesses, create and sell apps on the App Store.
And just a little over 4 years ago, I was living in Italy and just graduated from my Italian baccalaureate and I stumbled upon the news of Apple launching their first-ever academy in Italy.
A school by Apple? What is this?
Apparently, Apple partnered with the Italian government to create its first-ever European academy in the city of Naples for aspiring app designers and developers in 2016.
Of course, it didn’t take long until the news reach major media outlets. I first heard the news from a friend of mine who was an Apple fanatic and the moment he read about it, he immediately picked up his phone and called me.
I have to give him credit for being the key to my life-changing decision!!
And as you guess, I applied with zero expectations, and unexpectedly, I got in. Here are the benefits of being accepted into the program:
Free education
an iPhone, a Macbook, and other Apple devices you can use
A little over $10,000 in scholarship money
Access to Apple mentors and instructors
$99 Apple Developer Membership
There are obviously more benefits that can’t be classified as an object, like environment exposure, soft skill training, and network support!
Who is the program for?
Believe it or not, the academy is open to all, as long as you’re passionate, driven, and motivated to learn new things. When I attended the program, I met people coming from different backgrounds like robotics, psychology, and economics.
Also, there are multiple academies in the present day like in:
Italy
Brazil
Indonesia
Michigan
South Korea
And you can apply to either one of them!
How about the age?
Surprisingly, the only age limit there is that you have to have a high school or secondary school diploma meaning you need to be at least 17 or 18 by Italian standards.
One of the previous batches of the academy in Italy had a student that was nearly 60 years old! This shows that learning has no limits.
And you absolutely don’t need to have a background in coding, design, or entrepreneurship to qualify. Although, you are expected to work hard and study as the experience can be competitive.
Application process
The application involved three steps.
Initial student application
Admission exam
Motivational call
The initial student application was available fully online from the website and I submitted mine the very first day it became available. The information about the exam is shown below.
Then, a few weeks later they invite all applicants for an exam to be conducted in person in Naples, Italy. I took my exam at one of the university campuses for biotechnology.
There were people who came all the way from Mexico, Netherlands, United Kingdom to do the exam in Italy. Although this has changed nowadays as they’ve created more multiple exam locations located all over Europe.
A few weeks later, they will release the results of the exam on their website which shows the test scores.
There were a lot of names and as I was scrolling I was both anxious and excited to see my name and test score at the same time. When I saw it, I actually screamed out of joy!
When you pass the exam, they will ask you to schedule a motivational call with one of their admission team and it could be one from Apple as well.
I remember preparing before the motivational interview and I even slapped myself just to collect myself and to focus! The interview was very simple and conversational where they ask you questions about your background, your interests, and your contributions to the academy.
Just remember to have fun and there’s no need to be nervous at all!
I discovered the final results nearly 2 weeks later and ultimately got offered admission to which I have to accept before a deadline.
There were more than 5000 applicants and they only accepted 200 students for our batch and I got lucky enough to be one of them!
The whole process to me was smooth as I remember having fun through it and just doing my best in every part of it.
First day
Finally, it was the start of a new beginning. Before we officially kicked off the academy experience, there was an inaugural event where people from Apple and the Italian government came over to the campus to celebrate the start of the program.
On the same day, I was even interviewed and featured in one of the major Italian news publications, Il Corriere Della Sera along with two other amazing students just like me!
How was the experience?
Apple Developer Academy covers three main subjects.
iOS Development
UI/UX Design
Business/Startup creation
Strategically, one of the reasons Apple launched the initiative and invested millions of dollars in strategic markets to build the academies is to produce more talents for the iOS economy.
So, one of the ultra selling points of the academy is to teach how to design and develop apps for iPhones and iPads with Apple’s own programming language, Swift, and using their own tools iPhones and Macbooks.
But there’s one more thing about the academy.
First, the academy wasn’t just a normal school, like you’ve been accustomed to. There was less theory and more practice through hands-on activities, workshops, and projects. It was focused on helping students develop practical knowledge from day one.
And the way Apple does it makes you rethink the word ‘technology’. Additionally, their labs and classrooms were designed meticulously with purpose.
Classrooms had rounded tables positioned strategically with large Apple TVs almost on every wall. Each table can support 4–5 students, which is the perfect number for teams. For every classroom, there are at least 4 mentors circling around taking a look at the activities you’re doing.
Apple designs for innovation, even in classrooms. Even the teaching and learning methods used are innovative, designed to train future problem-solvers, innovators, and visionaries.
Throughout the program, we worked on various projects that mainly involves creating apps that can be ready for AppStore. We learned skills like:
Brainstorming, team-building, collaboration
User researching, wireframing, rapid prototyping
public speaking, storytelling, pitching
Every moment was intense, challenging, and breath-taking.
I also got an opportunity to meet and take a photo with Lisa Jackson, the VP of Environment and Social Initiatives!
And I’ve met a lot of amazing people that forever influenced my trajectory in life and I’m thankful for this experience given by Apple!
For more, visit: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/05/coders-designers-and-entrepreneurs-thrive-thanks-to-apple-developer-academy/