What we learned from our first AI cohort
While other coding programmes scramble to tack on AI modules, Dev Academy Aotearoa has spent the past 6 months building something fundamentally different: New Zealand's first AI-native coding bootcamp. Our prototype cohort just graduated in December 2025, and what we learned is reshaping how we prepare developers for an industry that's already moved past AI-as-a-tool to AI-as-a-teammate.
Here's what our founder Joshua Vial discovered:
What This Means for Your Future
These insights are shaping how we're preparing New Zealand's next generation of AI-native developers. Our 2026 Part-Time AI Software Developer programme (46 weeks, 20 hours per week, 100% online) gives you everything you need to get work in this new world, and integrates full-stack web development with AI coding workflows from day one.
Here's how it works:
- Foundations: Learn to code by hand while using AI as your tutor and learning assistant
- Bootcamp Phase 1: Master agentic workflows for learning and reflection
- Bootcamp Phase 2: Apply AI to product planning and code review
- Bootcamp Phase 3: Build production-ready features using plan-and-code workflows across major LLMs (Gemini, Copilot, GPT-4, Claude)
During our December 2025 cohort, students shipped production-ready features—like infinite scroll implemented in 30 minutes—that would have taken days to hand-code. But here's what matters to employers: our students could debug it, explain it, and iterate on it, because we teach them to use AI to extend capacity and deepen understanding, not replace it.
The industry's speed expectations have completely reset. At companies like Raygun, developers using AI tools are now expected to ship four bug fixes and two small features per day: a pace that would have been impossible just two years ago.
Employers aren't waiting. They're hiring for this right now. Forward-thinking companies are fundamentally changing how software gets built. What we teach in our bootcamp is what these companies are actively looking for in new hires: developers who can plan, review, and evaluate AI-generated code while understanding what makes features production-ready quality.
At Dev Academy, we’re preparing you for how developers actually work in 2026 and beyond. With 1710 graduates since 2014 and expert mentors who've been pioneering agentic development for years, we combine proven career outcomes with cutting-edge AI education.
Our next Part-Time cohort starts January 26, 2026. Applications close January 23.
Don't learn yesterday's coding. Train for how developers actually work in 2026.
Learn more and apply: devacademy.co.nz/part-time