APPSTART Academy, the first and only “appreneur” center in the Philippines, announced the start of its formal classes on June 20.
Necessity being the father of invention, the school said it responds to the need to develop the Philippines, which the school said ranks poorly in the applications development industry, to be at the forefront of the app economy. The school said it would teach people to build their own apps, market it, connect and launch these into the ever-demanding world of app development
According to Ann Villar Jacobe, she established the school “so that we can help more Filipinos go to this ‘appreneurship’ venture.”
“We know that [app development] is a very promising $151-billion industry,” Jacobe said. “Filipinos have the talent; what we only need is a comprehensive mentorship and training.”
According to Jacobe, there are a lot of new technologies for app development.
“There are new ways to do it, programming languages whatnot, but are not available here.”
She said she sent staff to the US “to train and share what we learn [here] to our fellow Filipinos.”
Jacobe has been in the information-technology industry as a technopreneur going in and out of the US to train since 2003. She is behind the shoe-shopping app Shoephoric. Aimed at propagating a constantly evolving learning platform, Jacobe said the school “empowers every student with an innovative and agile training to make him an active world-class participant in the app economy.”
“In this day and age where everybody is tech-first, one does not have to be a programmer because everybody can enrol to the academy’s programs regardless of background.”
Appstart Academy’s incoming programs include a free 2-hour 7 p.m. class on appreneurship every Thursday of August 11, 18, 25, and September. There’s also a class on iOS Development Immersive (coding, app design and launching and marketing the app) from October 17 to December 17. A 4-hour, 3-day iOS Starter Pack workshop is also being offered. There’s also 4-hour classes a week month-long on Advanced Swift and a 4-hour daily 3-day iOS workshop for graphic designers at the school’s unit at the The Atrium of Makati, Makati City.