Apple opening Europe’s first iOS app development center in Italy

From Apple’s press release:

The iOS App Development Center, to be located at a partner institution in Naples, will support teachers and provide a specialized curriculum preparing thousands of future developers to be part of Apple’s thriving developer community. In addition, Apple will work with partners around Italy who deliver developer training to complement this curriculum and create additional opportunities for students. Apple expects to expand this program to other countries around the world.

And:

In Italy, over 75,000 jobs are attributable to the App Store and the developer community is vibrant. IK Multimedia launched its first app in 2009 and since then has had over 25 million downloads. Musement, launched in 2013, is now available in seven languages and 300 cities across 50 countries, making it easy for people to book travel and excursions on the go.

Roberto Macina, CEO and founder of Qurami, said: “Apple’s continued innovation inspires us to create the best mobile experiences and make our customers’ lives just a little bit easier. Apple’s app ecosystem is the anchor for our business, and developing across Apple’s operating systems has enabled us to easily and quickly bring the Qurami experience to iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch users.”

Thousands of companies are expanding because of their work with Apple, which supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in communities large and small across Europe. Milan-based Laboratorio Elettrofisico makes some of the most sophisticated magnetization equipment in the world and their technology enables some of the industry-leading magnetic features found in Apple products. Apple also works with Europe’s leading manufacturers of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems, which create tiny components that power some of the incredible sensor and audio technologies found in iOS devices.

This looks to be the same program that started in Brazil (Brazilian Education Program for iOS Development, or BEPiD) and was previously announced by the Indonesian embassy:

In a visit to Apple headquarters hosted by Apple Senior Vice President of Operations Jeff Williams, Apple announced a new commitment to build an iOS App Development Center in Indonesia. This development center will be the first of its kind in Asia. The Indonesian government and Apple also discussed continued efforts to promote sustainable tin mining in Indonesia. The Indonesian government intends to improve social and environmental conditions for tin miners in Bangka Belitung. Indonesia is the world’s second largest tin producer after China.