On 30 April 2024, a team Faculty of Computer Science and Design (FIKD) at Universitas Dirgantara Marsekal Suryadarma (Unsurya) visited the Apple Developer Academy. The American tech giant, Apple Inc., established the Apple Developer Academy in Indonesia as part of its investment in developing local technology talent. The Apple Developer Academy has already been established in other major cities such as Surabaya, Batam, and Bali. On this occasion, the Unsurya delegation, represented by the Dean of the Faculty of Computer Science and Design, Dr. Ir. Yohannes Dewanto, M.T., and the Head of the Information System Program, Muryan Awaludin, S.Kom., M.Kom., along with their team, visited the Apple Developer Academy located at BINUS, Green Office Park 9, BSD.
This visit was part of a collaborative program established between Unsurya and Bina Nusantara University (BINUS). It provided a valuable opportunity to share knowledge and gain deeper insight into the system and teaching methods applied at the Apple Developer Academy, as well as to learn how the academy successfully attracts and fosters student interest in the field of technology. During the visit, the Unsurya team was accompanied by Nita Felia Pambudi and Robby Susanto from Great Nusa, representing BINUS, and George representing the Apple Developer Academy.
This visit proved to be highly insightful for the Unsurya team. They were not only introduced to the Apple Developer Academy itself but also had the chance to directly observe its teaching approach. At the academy, students choose what they want to learn, what projects they want to build , and which approaches they want to take to solve problems-while still stying within the scope of technology and their chosen topics. The instructors, or mentors as they are called, serve mainly as support systems. At a glance, it was even difficult to distinguish mentors from the students. The students are more independent in their learning and seem unberdened by the challenges given by the mentors. One possible reason is that they are allowed to choose the topics, media, and learning methods that suit them best. During the session, several student groups presented their projects and even invited the Unsurya team to try them out. Some of the applications we experienced included one that could translate and teach sign language, and another that could analyze emotions or moods based on heart rate data, among others.
There were many lessons learned from this visit. We gained valuable insight into effective teaching methods for students, how to guide them properly, and the kind of outcomes that can be achieved when such methods are applied. We also hope that this visit marks the beginning of a fruitful collaboration between Unsurya and BINUS, particularly in developing educational programs and improving the quality of graduates in the field of application development.
This concludes the report. May the collaboration between both parties be realized successfully.
