Academy helps Detroiters hone app development, learn how to code

(FOX 2) - If someone were to open up their smart phone, they'd find a list of apps curated to their style. 

The beast powering the industry that brings personalized apps to one's home screen is part of a $1.1 trillion business, according to one Apple study. Officials in Michigan hope to leverage just a fraction of that in hopes of boosting Detroit, which is already a growing tech hub.

"If we could get Detroiters to even tap into .1% of that - that's a billion dollars. I don't think that is a heavy lift," said Darnell Adams, who works at the Gilbert Family Foundation.

One of the foundation's goals is to retain talent in Detroit. If successful, a feedback loop would help bring more professional services to the city.

The trick is finding the right people and pairing them with the right training. That's where Michigan State University and the Apple Developer Academy comes in.

"Detroit is becoming a huge tech hub here, right? So we want to expose you to all that is around in the Detroit area, because that is why the academy is here, for Detroiters." said Anny Staten, the assistant director at the Apple Developer Academy.

Now entering it's fourth year, the academy offers 200 people a year of free training for 10 months. 

Staten says the goal is to encourage its students on the larger questions around app development, like why someone might build an app, who are the users, and who is the audience. They'll cover the rest.

"We teach learners how to code and design and make a business from their app," said Staten. 

In 2023, 47 teams got apps onto the app store. That includes Jatquese Whitson, a participant in the graduate program who arrived with no knowledge of coding but enough ideas to get started.

"It's kind of like just playing football, you know, you got to get in the gym, you gotta go work out, you got to do what you have to do so you can show out on the field," he said, "and it's the same with technology."

"They put the information in our face and was like 'we are going to teach you, but it's also up to you to go out and learn it and get better at it and come back and just show off," said Whitson.

The final product was an app called "Offseason," which is designed for the amateur athlete looking to set up a casual game with others.

"We are trying to make everything simpler. Find and host pick-up games, organizing the games, organizing the teams," said Whitson.

Whitson is one of the success stories of the academy. The goal of the program is that one's success will mean bigger and better things for Detroit as a whole.