Jun 29, 2020
My Journey at the Apple Developer Academy
On July 4th, 2019 I ended my Bachelor career and had not a clear idea of what to do next. I knew I wanted to continue my studies in Economics, but at the same time, I wanted to do something different for a year. Take a break for a while.
The following day I went to the beach, thoughtless and free of duties, a dream, right?
Well, not my case. I quickly realized how unfitted I am for “just chilling days”.
I needed to create a plan, and I needed it quickly.
A guy I met during the discussion of my thesis spoke about a cool experience he did studying in this new environment in San Giovanni. Honestly, I didn’t give him so much credit, I was totally focused on achieving my bachelor goal.
But the seed was planted.
Indeed, after my beach day, I spoke to a friend, who had a friend (I love chains) who was studying for a test to enter the Apple Developer Academy.
He spent really nice words to describe it. “Great opportunity”, “Broadening your views”, “A gift placed in your city”.
Two enthusiasts met in a few days, while I was looking for something different to do.
It must have been a sign.
I decided to apply.
“Ops…the time frame to apply is over”, this friend told me. Very disappointing for me. Later on that day I went home and while browsing the internet I came across the Academy web page. I opened it.
I don’t really believe in signs, but what would you call it when “The deadline has been postponed”.
So while the summer was roasting us all, I studied weird names and even more weird concepts about “Design”, “Coding”, “UX/UI” and other stuff which I had never heard before. The day of the test came by and my expectations were close to 0, I didn’t even have time to create them after all.
And apparently, this relaxed approach worked, because September 30th I was officially starting my journey at the Apple Developer Academy.
Throughout my life, I had the chance to study in international environments. Doing so in my own city was something totally different though.
Especially if what you are doing is not properly studying, but learning.
Learning specific skills related to the technical development of Apps for sure, but also learning a huge variety of other skills. How to work in groups, how to cooperate with different cultures, how to give and receive feedback, how to model your speech based on a different audience and how to speak to different people, how to present your product or how to acknowledge your failure.
The learning method is called the “challenge-based-learning” and it focuses on learning new things while trying to finish a specific project. Act, know the problem, and then acquire the knowledge to solve it. Not just theory (which is a critical element) but real work, you learn how to actually get your hands dirty.
There is a baggage of new skills that after one year (9 months actually) every student at the Apple Developer Academy will carry on with himself/herself.
Learning is the key and the final goal of whatever activity we do here. It is not showing off a grade, a specific result, or an accomplishment. But learning for its own sake, for enhancing you as a person, and not only from a “labor-market” perspective.
There are some bad points though. the biggest one: Over-inflation of the word “Amazing”. It is everywhere. My suggestion would be to just use synonyms, they are very useful. Words like: Cool, Great, Superb, Excellent, Interesting, Intriguing, and so on.
Jokes apart, the overall experience has been great. Even the way all the people have faced the Covid-19 pandemic is remarkable. In a couple of days, it has been possible to fully organize the workload in digital. Meetings, speeches, deadlines, everything done online, with no delays and no excuses. I think that is the approach everybody should have aimed for.
So now that the end is near, it is time for me to draw some conclusions, and to make some decisions.
I am enthusiastic about the new world I discovered yet I am not going to continue exactly on this path. I loved designing, creating projects, and working but I will continue my Economics career.
Disappointed to read this? Well, don’t be so! The spirit at the center of this experience is to enhance yourself as a whole. I will be able to use my skills, my knowledge in a different field and that is awesome!
Real progress and innovation begins when people start to cross over different fields and interests, that is the only way to make positive changes, and it is exactly what the Apple Developer Academy teaches you. Implement what you have with what you acquire.
If you were uncertain about joining this adventure I hope to have convinced you to take this leap. If you had a similar journey to mine (going back to your previous studies) be grateful and appreciate what you have done, the superpowers you gained are long-lasting and embedded in you, you are a superhero now!
