On Dec. 25, the Apple Developer Academy proudly launched SHOWCASE24, welcoming attendees to a day filled with brilliant and innovative ideas from its learners. The 3rd cohort of Academy learners began their journey at POSTECH at the start of the spring semester and marked the culmination of their 9-month journey with an impressive showcase of their progress.
The showcase opened with brief speeches from distinguished guests, who conveyed heartfelt encouragement and appreciation to the learners. Honorable guests included POSTECH President Seong Keun Kim, Vice Mayor of Pohang Sang-gil Jang, City Council Chairman Il Man Kim, and Enwei Xie, Apple’s Head of Worldwide Developer Relations.
POSTECH President Seong Keun Kim offered affirming words, stating, “Once a Postechian, always a Postechian,” expressing his hope for the learners to continue growing and improving as lifelong members of the POSTECH community. Following this, Vice Mayor Sang-gil Jang delivered a witty speech, playfully echoing President Kim’s sentiment by saying, “Once a Pohang citizen, always a Pohang citizen,” congratulating the learners. City Council Chairman Il Man Kim shared his delight, remarking on how meaningful it was to witness the graduation of the third cohort. As the last speaker, Enwei Xie highlighted the successful partnership with POSTECH and expressed his excitement about students “becoming global talents” through the Academy program.
The project showcase unfolded from 1:30 P.M. to 5:30 P.M., featuring 37 teams diligently working on their projects for 89 days since Sept. 2. Each team demonstrated an exceptional critical mindset, creating unique applications to address various problems. With diverse interests, the learners tackled a variety of topics, including lifestyle, education, music, productivity, and more. Their ideas were innovative, and the overall completeness and execution of their products elevated the quality to the next level.
All 37 teams’ projects were captivating, but here are just a few highlights. Team “Reazy” made a viewer service for reading scientific papers. The application provided basic functions like notetaking and translation, while it also included a service to view images or blocks of lines along with the main body of the paper. The team had already published the application on the Apple store for public users. On the other hand, team “REPOZ” utilized Apple Vision Pro to create an interactive game application to help people stretch. Hand and eye tracking in the Vision Pro allowed the learners to track the motions of eyes and hands to guide the users during the stretching. Another standout project was developed by team “Hearoad,” which addressed a challenge faced by people with hearing disabilities when riding a bicycle. After reading a news article about a bicycle accident involving a deaf individual due to a lack of awareness of a car approaching from behind, the team decided to develop an application that notifies users about nearby loud noises, enhancing their safety and situational awareness.
While the booths were running, insight sessions were held from 4:00 P.M. to 5:30 P.M.. The first session was led by Seungui Moon, a tech mentor at the Apple Developer Academy and an alumnus of the 2nd cohort, under the theme “Apple, Developer, Academy.” The second session was about game partnership management by Jeongsang Baek, Apple Korea’s Head of Worldwide Developer Relations, Korea.
The showcase was truly inspiring, offering everyone a glimpse into the creativity, dedication, and innovation of the learners. It was a remarkable opportunity to witness their hard work coming to life and to celebrate the promising futures they are building.
