Ohio State expands Apple app coding courses to public, local businesses

As technology continues to integrate into the workplace, Ohio State is making some of its tools to prepare for the digital future more accessible to the central Ohio community.

The university is expanding access to its Swift Coding and App Development certificate program from beyond Ohio State to members of the public and local businesses, according to a Wednesday press release. In four courses, the self-paced program teaches users Swift, the programming language used by Mac and iOS products, and Xcode, the tool used to create and develop apps for Apple products.

For community members and businesses, the program costs $350 per session for the first two courses and $450 per session for the second two, according to Ohio State’s Digital Flagship website. The program is free for Ohio State students, faculty, staff and alumni and is only available on Mac computers.

“This coding and app development certificate program allow anyone, regardless of their background or prior knowledge with coding, the opportunity to learn a tangible, applicable digital skill that will not only provide them immediate skills to utilize and explore, but also a foundation for future learning, innovation and creativity in the digital world,” Cory Tressler, director of learning programs and Digital Flagship at Ohio State, said in the release.

The university launched the certificate program for Ohio State students, faculty, staff and alumni in August 2019. Since then, more than 3,000 university community members have enrolled in it.

“I think a lot of the core skills will be valuable. Even if it’s something I don’t use in my career, it would be something fun to have if I ever want to do a little project on my own,” Alec Owen, a second-year in industrial and systems engineering, said in a Dec. 9, 2020 press release about the program. “It would be fun to be able to make an app just for something that you want to do.”

The university is partnering with Ohio’s TechCred program to offer the courses to local businesses. TechCred is a government initiative designed to help businesses compete in a largely digital economy, according to the state of Ohio’s website.

Employers can find more information about incorporating the program into their businesses on the Digital Flagship website.

Businesses that register their employees for the program may submit an application to TechCred for up to a $2,000 reimbursement, according to the Wednesday release.