Computer student APPlies himself to cash challenge

A BALLYMENA student from the University of Ulster’s Magee campus has won the coveted ‘2011 Awesome App’ award after the application he developed while on the inaugural Kainos App Camp was downloaded over 10,500 times!

Glenn Sayers, a Computer Science student, was one of eight high-flyers who took part in Ireland’s inaugural ‘App Camp’, a programme developed by leading technology company Kainos.

Glenn’s ‘Budget Wise’ app helps users track their finances and better manage their budgets. Recommending Budget Wise to those who are shocked when their bank balance is low, iTunes says: ”Wise up and keep out of the red and into the black with the help of Budget Wise”.

Glenn has also put the skills learnt on App Camp to good use as he has been asked to develop a tourism app for Ballymena Borough Council.

To date over 10,500 people have downloaded it – an average of 150 per day. At one stage it was listed in Apple’s top 10 Apps, another huge accolade for the local student.

The course, which Glenn described as “his most worthwhile summer ever”, taught the students how to design and develop new apps for Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices while enhancing the vital skills required for a career in the technology sector.

In recognition of its success, Kainos presented Glenn with £2000 of the latest Apple technologies, enabling him to build on the knowledge gained from the 8-week ‘App Camp’. Glenn has also been offered a placement year at Kainos as part of his degree course.

Congratulating him on his success, Tom Gray, Chief Technology Officer at Kainos said: “Glenn and the other seven students deserve great credit for their achievements. App Camp is a very innovative development programme and the end results show that collaboration between forward-thinking businesses and the education sector can deliver excellent results. They are also essential if we are to deliver on the government’s plans for a strong and thriving knowledge-based economy in Northern Ireland.”

Dr Michaela Black, Senior Lecturer at the University of Ulster, Coleraine said: “This entire programme has been a tremendous success and Kainos also deserves credit for recognising the potential and bringing App Camp to life. We look forward to working closely with them in the future as App Camp provides an ideal opportunity for students to apply the knowledge and skills they have gained from their course. Programmes of this nature also offer huge potential for enhancing personal development and employment.”