Entrepreneurs App Development Day
St Norbert College Students Shine at the Young Entrepreneurs App Development Day
On Wednesday, 12th March, eight of our Year 11 ATAR Computer Science students had the exciting opportunity to participate in the Young Entrepreneurs App Development Day, hosted by Winthrop Australia at Mineral Resources Park, Lathlain. This dynamic and hands-on experience, featuring mentors from Apple, RMIT, and other industry experts, provided students with valuable insights into the world of app development, coding, and entrepreneurship.
A Day of Innovation and Learning
The event encouraged students to think like entrepreneurs, identifying real world problems and developing innovative digital solutions. The day began with a brainstorming session, where students proposed various challenges they faced in daily life. After a lively discussion, our team settled on a universal file-sharing issue: the difficulty of transferring files seamlessly across different operating systems.
With that problem in mind, our students developed the concept for UNiSHARE, an app designed to provide a secure and private way to transfer files across platforms, similar to Apple's AirDrop but universally accessible. They crafted a proto-persona named 'Steve', a typical user struggling with cross-platform file transfers, and designed an intuitive user interface for their prototype.
Throughout the day, students engaged in:
- Problem identification and solution brainstorming
- Designing a proto-persona to better understand their user
- App interface design, starting with sketches on paper and refined using Canva
- A crash course in Swift programming through Swift Playgrounds
- Hands-on coding of the app interface in Swift
- An elevator pitch session, where they presented their idea to mentors and other teams
-User Interface designs by Mark Mostafaee and Yuuri Yokoo
Expert Mentorship and Industry Insights
One of the highlights of the day was the opportunity to interact with mentors from Apple and RMIT. In addition to hosting Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions, these industry professionals delivered short talks on their career journeys, industry trends, and valuable lessons learned in the tech sector. This mentorship gave students a real world perspective on the field of app development, exposing them to new ideas, challenges, and career pathways.
Student Reflections
The Young Entrepreneurs App Development Day was a valuable and exciting experience for our students. Here’s what they had to say about the day:
“This excursion was very interesting and fun. We were taught how to think like entrepreneurs and identify a real-world problem to solve. Overall, this excursion is possibly one of the best excursions I've gone to!” - Yuuri Yokoo
“Young Entrepreneurs Day was an exciting and enriching experience that encouraged teamwork, collaboration, and problem solving. The day was full of energy and truly unforgettable.” - Tobias Tryhorn
“We were almost always two steps ahead of the people speaking there. Overall, we had an enjoyable time.” - Liam Sanders
“The atmosphere was exceptionally welcoming, and I couldn't get enough of the delicious muffins and coffee!” - Mark Mostafaee
A Bright Future in App Development
This excursion was a fantastic opportunity for our students to explore new programming tools, develop their problem solving skills, and gain industry exposure. We hope to make this an annual experience.
For those who choose to extend their learning, this event served as an excellent stepping stone towards the Swift Student Challenge, an annual competition hosted by Apple for young developers.
We are incredibly proud of our students for their enthusiasm, creativity, and teamwork throughout the day. Their participation not only reflects the high standards of learning at St Norbert College but also showcases their ability to apply their knowledge beyond the classroom. We look forward to seeing where their coding journey takes them next!
Mr S Graf
(Information Technology/Computer Science Teacher)