First class graduates from Apple's Naples, Italy Developer Academy with VP Lisa Jackson on hand

The first class from Apple's Naples, Italy Developer Academy on the grounds of the University of Naples Federico II has graduated, and Vice President Lisa Jackson was there to commemorate the occasion.

Apple's Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives sent a Tweet on Thursday morning, with her posing the the class.

Congratulations to the first ever graduating class of the Apple Developer Academy in Naples @UninaIT #tuttappost pic.twitter.com/In9KzherGw
— Lisa P. Jackson (@lisapjackson) June 29, 2017

"Europe is home to some of the most creative developers in the world and we're thrilled to be helping the next generation of entrepreneurs in Italy get the skills they need for success," said Apple CEO Tim Cook when the initiative was launched in January 2016. "The phenomenal success of the App Store is one of the driving forces behind the more than 1.4 million jobs Apple has created in Europe and presents unlimited opportunities for people of all ages and businesses of all sizes across the continent."

The program is hosted by the University of Naples Federico II. It is the oldest public university in the world, and is the third university in Italy ranked by enrolled students.

"We are thrilled to be working with University of Naples Federico II to launch the first iOS Developer Academy in Europe," said Apple's Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri in July 2016 when the company announced the location for the center. "Some of the most creative developers in the world come from Europe, and we are confident this center will help the next generation get the skills they need for success."

Apple also claims that the App Store is responsible for the creation of more than 75,000 jobs in Italy. Notable Italian developers include IK Multimedia and travel app purveyor Musement.

The partnership between Apple and the University of Naples allows the nine-month curriculum to be offered free to all accepted into the program. In the first wave, 4000 applied, with 200 allowed to attend.

Besides just courseware, all 200 students at the iOS Developer Academy receive an iPhone, iPad and a Macbook. The program will expand to 400 students at some point in 2017.

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6 Comments

smaffei 237 comments · 11 Years

About 7 years ago

Yes, 9 months to learn tailored knowledge that can't be used outside of Apple's development environment. Seems pretty limiting to me. And, how much real Comp Sci are they learning?

usersinceos1 145 comments · 9 Years

smaffei said:

Yes, 9 months to learn tailored knowledge that can't be used outside of Apple's development environment. Seems pretty limiting to me. And, how much real Comp Sci are they learning?

1) it's free; 2) I'm sure they learned more than the suckers who paid big tuition to attend Trump U.

sflocal 6133 comments · 16 Years

smaffei said:

Yes, 9 months to learn tailored knowledge that can't be used outside of Apple's development environment. Seems pretty limiting to me. And, how much real Comp Sci are they learning?

Apple's environment is in demand and pays well, especially when compared to the crap that is Android.

It's critical thinking that's the concern. Most folks can be taught to code, but to code well takes skill and experience. Last thing we want is code-mills pumping out "graduates" that will fail in the long term.

dewme 5737 comments · 10 Years

smaffei said:

Yes, 9 months to learn tailored knowledge that can't be used outside of Apple's development environment. Seems pretty limiting to me. And, how much real Comp Sci are they learning?

This is an overly pessimistic and narrow viewpoint. I’ve worked with many excellent developers who came from a variety of backgrounds including math, physics, electrical engineering, chemistry, and even music. Give me a team of people who are smart, adaptable, and have a proven track record of getting things done in a professional setting and I don’t care what kind of degree they have. Whether they’ve been working with Windows, Unix/Linux, or Mac toolsets is also immaterial because the good ones can pick up any decent toolset on-the-fly. Any good educational or vocational program primarily teaches students how to learn and apply critical thinking to solve real problems. Some exceptional self-educated and highly-motivated people know how to continuously learn and adapt as well, whether they are degree credentialed or not.

Getting a CS degree or completing a highly focused boot camp style program is only the beginning of the long learning curve that a developer must remain on for the rest of his/her career. The skills they’ll need to possess and the technologies they’ll need to be able to work with in the middle and later stages of their careers haven’t even been invented yet. Completing a rigorous training program like the iOS Developer Academy is meaningful and provides evidence that they have the “smart” part down. As far as being “career limiting,” that will largely be determined by how adaptable (e.g., lifelong learner, team player, dealing with change, etc.) and productive (e.g., finishing, getting things done in the face of adversity, outcome focused, etc.) they remain over the course of their career as professional developers.

These programs are especially well suited for recruiting smart, adaptable, and productive individuals who don’t have CS, EE, CompEng, etc., degrees into the software developer community. The more the merrier and the more diverse their backgrounds and perspectives, the better it will be for the community at large, their employers, and for the customers of the products they will help create.

SpamSandwich 32917 comments · 19 Years

smaffei said:

Yes, 9 months to learn tailored knowledge that can't be used outside of Apple's development environment. Seems pretty limiting to me. And, how much real Comp Sci are they learning?

Knowledge which may turn some of these people into millionaires if they work hard and create the right app at the right time. Yeah... sounds like a real "waste of time." :|