All-female Apple Developer Academy in Saudi Arabia opens to students

Apple has opened its first Apple Developer Academy in the Middle East and North Africa region, with its Riyadh, Saudi Arabia academy dedicated to teaching aspiring female developers.

Initially announced in July 2021, the Riyadh Apple Developer Academy has now started to teach students about programming and design, with a view to participants having a career in the app economy.

The academy has welcomed female students across the region, aged between 20 to 35, with backgrounds ranging from IT and finance to art, law, and medicine, reports Khaleej Times. More than 600 women per year are expected to take part in courses offered by the academy, including 30-day introductory foundation courses and the 10-month Academy program.

"At Apple we're committed to ensuring everyone has the tools and resources to thrive in the app economy and be part of that transformation," said Apple VP of Education and Enterprise Marketing Susan Prescott. "Through the power of technology and innovation, we are proud to be helping prepare these leaders for new career and entrepreneurship opportunities."

The academy was launched in collaboration with Princess Nourah University and Tuwaiq Academy, and in partnership with the Saudi Federation for Cyber Security, Programming, and Drones.

Apple Developer Academy Director Ohood Mohamed Al Nayel sai "Our goal is to become the region's premier center for female iOS developers while supporting them in becoming active and effective entrepreneurs leading the digital transformation of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

14 Comments

charles1 90 comments · 10 Years

About 2 years ago

Maybe teach the women how to inspect their iPhones for NSO Pegasus spyware. Apple should not be supporting Saudi oppression of women with this philanthrocapitalism. It only reinforces their subservience. "Look, women can program computers while wearing a burqa!"

Anilu_777 576 comments · 8 Years

charles1 said:

Maybe teach the women how to inspect their iPhones for NSO Pegasus spyware. Apple should not be supporting Saudi oppression of women with this philanthrocapitalism. It only reinforces their subservience. "Look, women can program computers while wearing a burqa!"

What they wear is irrelevant. They are gaining a needed skill that fosters independence.

shiriajin 2 comments · 2 Years

charles1 said:

Maybe teach the women how to inspect their iPhones for NSO Pegasus spyware. Apple should not be supporting Saudi oppression of women with this philanthrocapitalism. It only reinforces their subservience. "Look, women can program computers while wearing a burqa!"

Why does everyone in the west believe that women wearing their what they want is a sign of oppression? They are not looking for someone to save them because they don’t need to be saved. Being half naked isn’t even a sign of anything just being morally loose

22july2013 3716 comments · 11 Years

Saudi Arabia imprisons, tortures and executes people for being gay. And yet Apple chooses to reward Saudi Arabia with programs like this? Does Apple protest human rights anywhere? Oh yes, I forgot, Apple protests restrictions on which bathrooms LGBTQ people can use in Texas, but notice that Apple doesn't ever protest imprisonment of gays in other countries. I presume any protest would hurt Apple's sales. So Apple punishes Texas economically for a small crime, but rewards Saudi Arabia for a big crime?

https://www.inc.com/salvador-rodriguez/tech-texas-bathroom-bill.html <--

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Saudi_Arabia#LGBT_rights <--

To be fair, I think Apple has the legal right to refuse to do business in any state where Apple doesn't like the bathroom laws, but I only wish Apple would speak up once about human rights in the world and refuse to do business in regimes that are so brutal they would/could actually execute the CEO of Apple if he visited there because of his sexual orientation.

elijahg 2817 comments · 18 Years

22july2013 said:

Saudi Arabia imprisons, tortures and executes people for being gay. And yet Apple chooses to reward Saudi Arabia with programs like this? Does Apple protest human rights anywhere? Oh yes, I forgot, Apple protests restrictions on which bathrooms LGBTQ people can use in Texas, but notice that Apple doesn't ever protest imprisonment of gays in other countries. I presume any protest would hurt Apple's sales. So Apple punishes Texas economically for a small crime, but rewards Saudi Arabia for a big crime?
https://www.inc.com/salvador-rodriguez/tech-texas-bathroom-bill.html <--
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Saudi_Arabia#LGBT_rights <--
To be fair, I think Apple has the legal right to refuse to do business in any state where Apple doesn't like the bathroom laws, but I only wish Apple would speak up once about human rights in the world and refuse to do business in regimes that are so brutal they would/could actually execute the CEO of Apple if he visited there because of his sexual orientation.

Unfortunately is what happens when you have a CEO that is driven entirely by profit above all else. Progressive statements/actions that apply only to the locations where it won't affect Apple's profit means they're doing nothing more than virtue signalling. Statements aimed at supporting people where it'll make a real difference, i.e. calling out regimes for their backwards laws despite a potential hit to profit would have much more effect and also garner much more respect.