KAIST 'App Startup Program' Turning Novices into Developers in Just Three Months

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] There is an educational program where individuals with no prior programming knowledge transform into app developers and even start their own businesses after 14 weeks of training. The program, operated by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), is called the "App Startup Support Program."

KAIST announced on the 22nd that the program, which was conducted online for a total of 14 weeks from December last year to April this year, achieved a total of 37 startup outcomes.

This program was planned by the KAIST SW Education Center with the purpose of entrepreneurship education and incubating in the software field. It provides education covering the entire process from planning, analysis, design, and implementation to create application prototypes, and supports mentoring in entrepreneurship and technology fields. Notably, the program held an open call without restrictions on major or alma mater to enable non-software majors to develop app service capabilities. A total of 196 applicants formed 78 teams.

These participants transformed from software novices to app developers and entrepreneurs in just 14 weeks of training. Among the 196 applicants, 146 (74.5%) were non-software majors, and among the 58 who completed the final mission and developed apps, more than 77%, or 45 people, were non-majors with little to no development experience.

The applicants were assigned missions progressing through three stages: startup registration (10 days) - app planning (1 month) - app development (2 months), undertaking intensive tasks such as writing app plans, registering businesses, developing prototypes, and developing app and server programs.

In the first stage, 70 people from 20 teams were selected, and among them, 58 people from 16 teams successfully completed the final third-stage mission. Each completing team received software development education and technical mentoring from experts in various fields. Through this, they not only developed promising app prototypes but also produced tangible results including one corporate startup and 36 individual startups, totaling 37 achievements.

Among the 16 teams that successfully completed the program, the "Gwanlibichaek," "Yammil," and "Cupid" teams were finally selected for this year's Startup Promotion Agency's Preliminary Startup Package, receiving startup funds ranging from 40 million to 100 million KRW each. The "Great Puzzle" team secured 110 million KRW in startup funds through the Small and Medium Business Corporation's Youth Startup Academy.

In particular, the startup team "Gwanlibichaek," which won the grand prize in this program, participated without any programming knowledge and succeeded in developing a data-based digital management office service app targeting residents of small-scale buildings. Based on their development achievements, "Gwanlibichaek" is currently in the process of establishing a corporation, with Mr. Yu Seong-guk and Mr. Lee Yoon-gon serving as co-CEOs.

Center Director Bae Doo-hwan said, "As a result of applicants from diverse majors and backgrounds forming teams, a variety of software prototypes covering housing, fashion, transportation, education, and sports were realized, culminating in successful startups," and "Since this program has set a good example of nurturing practical talent through software education, we plan to analyze the outcomes and areas for improvement to operate a second program from July next year that will further promote education and startups in the software field."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.