In order to educate Apple’s iOS language to USC system students and community members across South Carolina, the University of South Carolina has teamed up with Apple Inc. to offer a free coding certification course in the spring 2023 semester.
Through the iCarolina Community Learning Lab network, this course teaches Apple’s Swift programming language. Through its $6 million grant from the GEERs (Governors Emergency Education Relief) fund, the iCarolina Lab was created in 2021.
The lab network will support nearby school districts, historically black colleges, South Carolina’s tech system and neighborhood residents. It is currently headquartered in Union, Lancaster, Sumter, Allendale, Walterboro and will eventually be based in Lawrence.
The lab site will provide reliable technology and Internet access to the community around the USC Palmetto College campus, less than 15 miles from the broadband wilderness. The USC Columbia location provides educational and training support for the network.
Swift is a beginner-friendly business programming language. Developed by Apple to create apps for iOS, Apple TV, Mac and Apple Watch. Swift is a flexible programming language that allows developers to easily implement their ideas with incredible speed.
As part of the partnership, Apple offers curriculum and training courses for instructors, as well as project management and engineering services to support the deployment.
Led by Noble Anumbe, a postdoctoral fellow at the USC College of Engineering and Computing, the pilot course will begin in January 2023 and will run once a week, free of charge, for about three months. Participants will receive a Swift Application Development Certification certified and managed by Certiport, a leading global provider of certification program development, delivery and management services.
USC President Michael Amiridis said, “This free, accredited course will provide the university with the skills it needs to work with key industries and the state of South Carolina to give students and residents in underserved communities the competitive edge they need. ”. It’s a great example of how to provide
The iCarolina lab network continues to offer Apple-related content, covering everything from computer literacy to Apple IT, helpdesk deployment and certification. USC also plans to leverage existing partnerships with IBM, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Siemens to add industry certification courses covering artificial intelligence and cybersecurity in the future.