Apple Foundation Program at RMIT Sees Inaugural Women-Only Cohort Graduate
Late last year, the first woman-only cohort graduated from the Apple Foundation Program at RMIT University.
The RMIT Apple Foundation Program is a four-week learning experience that introduces learners to the fundamentals of app development.
The program offers an overview of the skills to become an iOS developer, and learners are introduced to the Swift programming language – a powerful and intuitive programming language for iPhone, iPad, Mac and more – to prototype an original app idea.
The program culminates with groups pitching their idea to their peers, mentors, representatives from industry and experts from RMIT and Apple.
Learners develop and pitch an original app idea as part of the program.Helping women break into the technology sector
Only 29 per cent of the technology workforce are women.
This first-ever women-only cohort has allowed RMIT and Apple to address the lack of diversity and inclusion in the technology sector, with the majority of learners from non-Australian backgrounds.
Sixty per cent of learners come from a non-STEM background, and 90 per cent of learners who completed the program in 2023 said they were likely to continue to develop apps after finishing the course.
Professor Karin Verspoor, Executive Dean, School of Computing Technologies, explained that many of the learners are tackling ideas around social justice.
“There have been some amazing ideas to come out of the program,” she said.
“Many of this cohort are solving some kind of local community problem, but the pitches are all so diverse.
“I’ve seen app ideas that range from tackling loneliness by saving familiar voices and sounds, to apps that rank local eateries according to user-inputted filters.”
Gwyneth Chua, a 20-year-old biomedicine student, is working on an app for family members to manage the care of a sick or elderly loved one, while 22-year-old Master of Data Science Student, Sasha Nazareth, is creating an app to empower young girls to learn about the journey into womanhood.
The first all-female cohort includes 45-year-old Dot Georgoulas, who has 24 years’ experience in the design industry and is currently UX/UI Designer at a start-up called Tru Recognition.
“I wanted to pivot from Communication Design into Digital Technology and so I was extremely keen to learn more about Apple’s app development and coding software,” she said.
“Through a curiosity to learn more, I became aware of the Apple Foundation Program at RMIT University and applied for the Women in STEM cohort.
“I wanted to learn more about human-centred design, design thinking, user experience design and user interface design.”
The program helps to address the lack of diversity and inclusion in the technology sector.The RMIT Apple Foundation Program will continue in 2024, with applications now open for those interested. Dates are available on RMIT Apple Foundation Program’s website.
“Australia faces a significant skills shortage,” said Verspoor.
“The technology sector, particularly the development of new technology, would be better, safer and more inclusive if it were created by a diverse workforce.
“Empowering more women with the skills and experience required to have successful careers in the technology sector is a crucial part of tackling this challenge.
“The Apple Foundation Program at RMIT will continue to play a role in helping learners to develop a future-fit skill set to help us all thrive into the future.”