Former Starbucks Worker Says Attending Apple's Developer Academy Was 'Opportunity of My Life'

Apple's first iOS Developer Academy opened in Naples, Italy last October, providing 200 students with practical skills and experience to help turn their app ideas into reality and bring them to market on the App Store.

ios developer academy macbook
One of those students is a young Neapolitan man named Lucio, who left Naples for the United Kingdom to find a technology job, but was enticed to return to the city upon hearing about Apple's Developer Academy.

The Independent says after Lucio applied for the academy, he left his job at Starbucks so that he could study properly. He felt it was a risky move, but fortunately, he passed the test and joined the first year's class of students.

Lucio described the academy as the "opportunity of my life" and, nearly eight months later, said he would "totally recommend" the experience to anyone looking to come from elsewhere in the world.

“I was taking a risk, but this was the opportunity of my life,” he says. He had tried university already, and found it lacking because it had so little focus on student’s enjoyment and the work of actually solving problems and working with other people.

The Independent explains how Apple's Developer Academy has made Naples a more attractive city for young people to thrive in, after years of suffering from "brain drain" following an industrial decline.

“If you stay here you are part of an ecosystem that will continue to train developers,” says Giorgio Ventre, a professor at the University of Naples Federico II. “This is something that you do need if you want to open a company. You want to count on yourself - but you want to count on the skills you need to help your company grow. If you stay here you can find it.”

Apple is accepting applications for the Developer Academy's second year until May 31. Scholarships are available, and each student inducted receives a free MacBook and iPhone to use during the one-year program. Courses are held at the University of Naples Federico II in Naples suburb San Giovanni a Teduccio.

The academy will accept up to 400 students for the new academic year, twice as many as the first year. The program is open to students from across Italy and around the world, with Apple encouraging developers from the United Kingdom and elsewhere to apply in an effort to have a more diverse group of people.

Last year, Apple said it expects to expand its Developer Academy program to other countries around the world in the future.

Top Rated Comments

Kaibelf Avatar
76 months ago
Of course it was the opportunity of his life, he probably gave his entire life savings to apple for 1 ticket.
The academy curriculum is free and Apple and the university partnered together to pay for it.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sinsin07 Avatar
76 months ago
Of course it was the opportunity of his life, he probably gave his entire life savings to apple for 1 ticket.
Next time dig deeper instead of trying to be first with the negativity and wild speculation.
The info was right in the article with the link "accepting applications".

"Are there scholarships for Developer Academy?

The attendance to the Developer Academy is free.
"
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NT1440 Avatar
76 months ago
I think becoming a developer is a wonderful life skill, no question... but the App Store is hardly the gold mine it was in 2008.
No doubt, but anyone developing for the goal of "get rich quick" probably shouldn't be in the field anyway.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Blackstick Avatar
76 months ago
I think becoming a developer is a wonderful life skill, no question... but the App Store is hardly the gold mine it was in 2008.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NT1440 Avatar
76 months ago
The next opportunity of his life might be to study some elementary AppStore economics.
And find out that you can't earn a living there, except some happy very (very) few
I don't understand why people think learning to code (even if it's just swift) means that it's App Store or bust. Plenty of companies out there that have an iOS app, that requires developers.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NT1440 Avatar
76 months ago
Learning to code is generally a great opportunity but learning to code with the specific intent of developing for macOS/iOS is a really risky if not outright dumb investment of time.
How so? I'm learning to code for iOS right now. I'm not expecting to get money from it, but I have a few tools that I want to make for my own personal use and I get to add iOS/MacOS development to my resume.

Coding skills are only worth it if they lead to a job?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Leak Reveals Unified Volume Button and Mute Button

Monday March 20, 2023 8:33 am PDT by
As previously rumored, the next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a unified volume button and a mute button, according to leaked CAD images shared in a video on the Chinese version of TikTok and posted to Twitter by ShrimpApplePro. Instead of separate buttons for volume up and volume down, the iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have a single elongated button for...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 for iPhone Nearing Launch With These 5 New Features

Monday March 20, 2023 11:50 am PDT by
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April. iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
original iphone auction

Factory-Sealed Original iPhone Sells for $55,000 at Auction

Friday March 17, 2023 1:08 pm PDT by
A first-generation iPhone still sealed inside its box sold for $54,904 at auction, which is more than $54,000 over the original $599 price tag of the device when it was released in 2007. The original iPhone was put up for sale by RR Auction on behalf of a former Apple employee who purchased it back when it first came out. Back in February, an original, sealed iPhone sold for over $63,000,...
voice isolation

iOS 16.4 Adds Voice Isolation for Cellular Phone Calls

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:01 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 update that is set to be released to the public in the near future includes voice isolation for cellular calls, according to notes that Apple shared today. Apple says that Voice Isolation will prioritize your voice and block out the ambient noise around you, making for clearer phone calls where you can better hear the person you're chatting with and vice versa. Voice...
iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro Feature

iPhone 12 Pro vs. 15 Pro: New Features to Expect if You've Waited to Upgrade

Friday March 17, 2023 10:29 am PDT by
While year-over-year iPhone upgrades are not always groundbreaking, new features can begin to stack up over multiple generations. For example, the iPhone 15 Pro will be a notable upgrade for those who still have a three-year-old iPhone 12 Pro. If you are still using an iPhone 12 Pro and are considering upgrading to the iPhone 15 Pro when it launches later this year, we have put together a...
top stories 18mar2023

Top Stories: iPhone 15 Pro Pricing, New iOS 16.4 Beta, Siri vs. ChatGPT, and More

Saturday March 18, 2023 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's high-end iPhone models have started at $999 in the U.S. since they first launched back in 2017 with the iPhone X, but could this finally be the year that starting price sees an increase? This week also saw some more rumors about Apple's upcoming headset and the company's explorations in the booming AI industry as well as the release of a new round of beta updates, so read on for all...
smart monitor m8 samsung

Deals: Samsung's iMac-Like Smart Monitor M8 Drops to Lowest Price of Year So Far With $250 Discount

Monday March 20, 2023 8:27 am PDT by
Samsung today kicked off a special "Discover Samsung" event, which will be a week-long savings event focusing on Samsung monitors, smartphones, TVs, appliances, and more. While some deals will stick around the entire week (through March 26), others will refresh every day. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Samsung. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...