Apple Developer Academy graduates nearly 200 students in its third year running

Apple’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative encompasses a variety of programs and work, but one beneficiary of its funding is the Apple Developer Academy, which just celebrated its third graduating class.

Making app development accessible

The Detroit-based Apple Developer Academy aims to equip participants with a variety of skills and training to build iOS apps and more.

Here’s how Michigan State University describes it:

This partnership between Apple and Michigan State University, with the support of the Gilbert Family Foundation, offers a free, intensive 10-month program focused on coding, design, marketing, project management and newly introduced curriculum for artificial intelligence technologies and frameworks. The academy prioritizes inclusivity, encouraging a diverse range of students, aged 18 to over 70, to develop innovative tech solutions that address local community needs.

Nearly 200 students graduated this year, bringing the total number of graduates to over 1,000 since the program’s inception in 2021.

One of this year’s graduating students, Dezmond Blair, was recognized by Apple as a 2024 Swift Student Challenge Distinguished Winner. He created an iPad app, MTB XTREME, that provides an immersive dirt biking experience right from your home, and he hopes to bring it to the Vision Pro soon.

The Apple Developer Academy is still young in its life, but it’s great to see the success it’s found and I hope programs like it will become more commonplace across the globe.