(June 15, 2023) “She’s already poised to make a profound impact on the world by helping people with their health, and we’re excited to see what she does next,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook, about Asmi Jain, a twenty-year-old developer from Indore, who is one of the three winners of the Apple Swift Student Challenge. Overnight, the quiet teen from Indore skyrocketed into fame, and the world learned Asmi Jain’s name. Cook was all praise for Jain, saying that the ioS developer community in India has always fascinated him, and that the young girl’s work exemplifies creativity. Jain’s app playground was declared one of three winners from 375 entries received from around the world.
Jain, who is a student at Medi-Caps University in Indore, found her call to action when a friend’s uncle had to undergo brain surgery. The procedure left him with misaligned eyes and facial paralysis. It stirred her to action and she began working on an app that can track a user’s eye movements as they follow a ball moving around the screen. According to the press note by Apple, “The playground’s purpose is to help strengthen the eye muscles, and though it was inspired by her friend’s uncle, Jain hopes it can be used by people with a variety of eye conditions and injuries.
Asmi Jain, winner of Apple Swift Student Challenge.
Driven by empathy
Jain is one of the three, first-time winners of the Swift Student Challenge, an annual competition organised by Apple during the Worldwide Developer’s Conference. The program is intended to provide young developers with a platform to showcase their coding abilities and creative ideas. The challenge requires participants to create interactive playgrounds and apps using Swift, Apple’s programming language.
Always driven to make a positive impact on society, the Global Indian found that the healthcare sector was the ideal place to put her coding skills to use. She had also spent years volunteering to help people in her community. She is also part of a forum at university for students to collaborate and work through coding problems.
“When you feel as though you’re part of something bigger, it motivates you and drives you to do better,” she remarked. “Coding lets me create things that help my friends and my community.” It also gives her a sense of independence, she says, which is “very empowering.”
Asmi’s plan involves getting feedback to make sure the app is “effective and user-friendly, then release it on the App store,” she says. “Ultimately, I want to expand it so that it helps strengthen all of the muscles in the face, and I hope it can one day serve as a therapy tool that people like my friend’s uncle can use at their own pace.”
Asmi is among a group of elite, AI-savvy young coders around the world who are harnessing cutting-edge technology to create social change. Developers like Asmi Jain are at the forefront of creating innovative solutions that address healthcare challenges. Technology has helped enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare systems, benefiting healthcare professionals and patients alike.
Through intuitive user interfaces and secure data handling, as is the case with Asmi’s app, patients are empowered to actively participate in their own healthcare, while healthcare providers can access critical information in real-time, leading to better decision-making and more personalized care.
What is the Apple Swift Challenge?
The Apple Swift Student Challenge is an annual competition organized by Apple during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). It is specifically designed to provide young developers with an opportunity to showcase their coding abilities and creative ideas using Swift, Apple’s programming language.
The challenge invites students from around the world to submit their interactive playgrounds or apps created with Swift. Participants are encouraged to think innovatively and solve real-world problems through their projects. The entries are judged based on various criteria, including technical accomplishment, creativity, and the overall design of the project.
Winners of the Swift Student Challenge receive a range of exciting prizes, including a WWDC21 jacket and pin set, a one-year membership in the Apple Developer Program, and access to future WWDC events. Moreover, their projects are showcased on the Apple Developer website and in the App Store.
The Apple Swift Student Challenge not only recognizes the talent and potential of young developers but also provides them with a platform to gain exposure, connect with industry professionals, and kickstart their careers in app development and software engineering.
