WWDC 2023: India's Asmi Jain among first-time winners of Apple's Swift Student Challenge. Who is she?

The total number of winners, however, is 375, an increase from 350 from the previous editions of the competition.

Ahead of the 2023 edition of its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple has announced the winners of the Swift Student Challenge, which precedes each edition of the WWDC.

Indore resident Asmi Jain (Image courtesy: Apple)

Among the total 375 winners of Swift Student Challenge 2023, there are some first-time champions as well, including an Indian: Indore resident Asmi Jain.

Who is Asmi Jain?

Jain, a student of Medi-Caps University in her hometown – the country's cleanest city – designed an app playground to track a user's eye movements, as they try to follow a ball moving around the screen. She entered the competition after a friend's uncle, after undergoing a brain surgery, was left with eye misalignment and facial paralysis.

The developer, however, hopes her creation can be used for various eye conditions and injuries. “My next goal is to get feedback and make sure it’s effective and user-friendly, and then release it on the App Store. Ultimately, I want to expand it so that it helps strengthen all of the muscles in the face,” she said.

For Jain, the desire to use coding to solve problems in the healthcare sector stems from the many years she spent volunteering to help people around her.

Coding, she said, ‘lets me create things that help my friends and community, and gives me a sense of independence that is very empowering.’

Apple Swift Student Challenge

Under this, the tech giant issues a challenge to students across the globe; it asks them to create an original app playground using the Swift coding language. Also, to recognise more students for their artistry and ingenuity, the Tim Cook-helmed company increased the number of winners to 375, from 350 in the previous editions.

“We are amazed by the talent we see from the young developers who enter the challenge,” said Susan Prescott, Apple's vice-president of Worldwide Developers Relations.

Prescot added: “This year’s submissions demonstrated not only the next generation’s commitment to building tools that will improve our lives, but also a willingness to embrace new technologies and tools, and deploy them in original and creative ways.”

These champions will now get to be in attendance for WWDC, both virtually and in-person. The 5-day event will kick off on June 5.