Glenn Sayers; a Ballymena computer science student, was able to win a design prize of £2,000 for a phone app that he developed. Calling it the Budget Wise, it has already been downloaded in over 10,500 devices, which was enough to earn him the 2011 Awesome App prize at Ireland’s first App Camp under the Belfast IT firm Kainos.

The camp taught eight students how to design and develop new apps for the iPad and iPhone, with Glenn developing an app that can help keep track of a person’s finances and manage their budgets. The iTunes site has given this slogan phrase as a recommendation: “Wise up and keep out of the red and into the black with the help of Budget Wise.”At one point, it was listed as one of Apple’s tops 10 apps.

Kainos presented Glenn with £2,000 worth of the latest technology from Apple Inc. with the addition of a placement year at Kainos as part of his degree course. He has also been asked to create a tourism app for Ballymena Borough Council.

Tom Gray, chief technology officer at Kainos, said: “Glenn and the other seven students deserve great credit for their achievements. App Camp shows 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 program has been a tremendous success and Kainos also deserves credit for recognizing 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. Programs of this nature also offer huge potential for enhancing personal development and employment.”

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