A Co Down student has won a top prize for Best App at summer camp run in conjunction with Belfast Metropolitan College.
Nathanael Holmes from Bangor was one of the participants in a free two-week CodeCamp course, jointly hosted by Kainos, in mobile app creation.
The programme offered 80 young learners the chance to use MIT App Inventor to create real apps for Android phones and tablets.
Nathanael successfully developed Golf Buddy, an app that allows users to upload their results for each game of golf so they can analyse their typical play and see trends on individual courses.
The app can help to aid player development by highlighting strengths and weaknesses in their games.
The innovative CodeCamp course, developed by thriving technology company Kainos in conjunction with Belfast Met, the largest Further and Higher Education college in Northern Ireland, will help to nurture the next generation of technology talent in Northern Ireland.
Participants learnt about how software is designed, built and tested, leadership and project management skills and were introduced to career options in the IT industry.
Said Nathanael: “Kainos CodeCamp at Belfast Met really appealed to me because it gives relevant and real experience in app creation, allowing me not only to learn about mobile app development, but also try my hand at it too. It has given me a real sense of what it’s like to work in the software industry and introduced me to some potential career options.”
June Ingram, director of skills and industry division at the Department for Employment and Learning, congratulated the winners: “The Northern Ireland economy is going through a considerable transformation and future jobs in the IT industry, which are already starting to be established, will require a highly skilled workforce across a range of areas including software development.”
The other award winners included Matthew Neil from Glengormly for Best App Idea and Georgia Grainger from Crossgar for Best Progress.