Since 2021, the Apple Developer Academy, in partnership with Michigan State University, has equipped more than 1,000 Detroit-based learners with skills like coding, design and marketing to help them take advantage of opportunities in the iOS app economy.
The free 10-month program, which welcomed its newest cohort in August, encourages students to develop technology-focused solutions that address local community needs and beyond.
Some learners are just beginning their experience at the Academy, while others are continuing their education in the second-year Renaissance program. Many leverage what they have learned to launch professional careers in technology and app development.
Min Khine, a 25-year-old from Detroit, graduated from the first year of the program in June and is currently in the second-year Renaissance program. He is on the cusp of what he hopes will be a future career in app development.
It has been a long journey for Min to the Apple Developer Academy. After graduating from university in Myanmar in 2019, he moved to the U.S. in 2021. While Min found a job working seven days a week as a sushi chef to support himself, he always had an interest in software engineering.
“The reason I moved to the United States was that I really want to work for Apple one day,” he said. “It was perfect that the Academy accepted me. Their slogan ‘Think Different’ really influenced me. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always seen things differently and I do things differently and I believe I can make a difference because of that.”
Min entered the program alongside a diverse range of students, including musicians, business owners and high school students, who varied in age from 18 to 76. During his initial year, students received training and were divided into teams to work on app design. Min helped develop an app to support people with disabilities and assist them with everyday tasks. The app could scan a bill at a restaurant and notify the user of how much they owe.
In just his first year, Min was recognized as one of 350 winners of Apple’s Swift Student Challenge, which empowers thousands of student developers around the world to showcase their creativity and coding capabilities.
Student groups in Min’s cohort developed a variety of different apps, some that were designed as a form of entertainment and others that provide practical services for users. One app was focused on helping users locate free spaces where they can work for the day and it’s a project that Academy alumnus A.J. Louis and his group collaborated on in 2023.
Now, A.J. is an independent app developer and entrepreneur looking to bring his latest app to market.
Seeking creatives
A.J. was going through a difficult stage of his life when he learned about the Apple Developer Academy.
Due to personal struggles, he found it hard to focus on his career aspirations. Though he had enrolled in a similar app development program, the results from that program hadn’t been fruitful. A.J.’s interest was piqued when he received a text message from a friend telling him about the Apple Developer Academy in Detroit.
“What drew me in is what it said on the application: ‘Looking for creative people with ideas,’” he said. “Going into the Apple Developer Academy...it felt like a culmination of all of the skills that I have.”
A.J. was not only a learner, but also a team member and a leader in the program. Like the other learners, he was assigned a mentor who pushed him to set expectations high and strive for growth and excellence.
When A.J. joined the Apple Developer Academy, he discovered a warm and inviting program that embraced a unique configuration.
“It was more of an open format, like a big tech Montessori school for adults,” he said. “What they provided for me was a nurturing environment. It wasn’t so dry. We got to have impactful conversations. We learned a lot about things like diversity, equity and inclusion. We shared our own stories and saw how they played out to make us who we are today.”
For much of his life, A.J. has shared a passion for storytelling and creative writing. He even had dreams of writing comic books. He held skills and excitement that he couldn’t bring to life. But after spending time at the Apple Developer Academy, A.J.wants to grow his creativity and develop more apps, especially those that inspire users to be more innovative, too.
The app he continues working on now, freeWriter, has evolved into a tool that helps people who struggle to stay focused while writing. It helps users complete stories, achieve flow and accelerate writing mastery through an AI-based guide and a gamified story development framework.
While he continues to work on apps, A.J. is also building a career in IT, which he believes will lead him into the world of venture capital and entrepreneurship.
Even today, A.J. maintains a connection with the Apple Developer Academy and he was one of the first to congratulate the latest graduating cohort with a post on his blog.
Among the cohort of students A.J. congratulated is Monique Mansfield, 28, from Detroit, who came to the Apple Developer Academy to continue her education and pursue her interests in app development, business development and coding.
Opportunities in tech
Monique is the outreach and events coordinator for Detroit at Work, an organization that connects job seekers with resources and employers in the city.
She long had an interest in technology, taking a video game design program that taught the basics of coding at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield. Monique also worked with Code313, a non-profit organization that provides equitable access to STEAM education to youth in hopes of closing the digital divide.
When Monique heard about the Apple Developer Academy, she saw it as an interesting opportunity to learn about app development and Apple’s programming language, Swift.
When she enrolled in the first year of the program in August 2023, Monique explored coding, design and various technical aspects of app development. She also learned about different learning styles, communication and how to effectively work in teams.
Monique enhanced her collaborative skills while working on various teams that developed and presented apps. One is an app that allows users to review the quality and uniqueness of restaurants and to curate lists of those with the best happy hour food specials. Another app Monique and her group developed generates daily positive affirmations based on the user's mood.
“I love tech,” she said. “I love it not only for the opportunities that it creates and generates for the community, but how it engages the community.”
Monique, who is also pursuing a master’s degree in strategic communications at MSU, will enter the second year of the Apple Developer Academy program and eagerly awaits additional future opportunities. She also looks forward to becoming a more effective communicator, collaborator and leader, while learning more about project management styles — all of which are skills she will bring back to her career with Detroit at Work.
Learn more about the opportunities offered at the Apple Developer Academy at developeracademy.msu.edu.
