WWDC 2023: Apple CEO Tim Cook meets India's Asmi Jain, Swift Student Challenge winner

Asmi Jain, the 20-year-old Indian who won the WWDC award for creating an app playground on healthcare, has met Apple CEO Tim Cook during the WWDC 2023.

Asmi had emerged as one of the winners of the Swift Student Challenge at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). The challenge was for students across the world to create an original app playground using the Swift coding language.

20-year-old Asmi Jain from Indore, won the award for her app. Now, for Jain, coding is an opportunity not only to forge a unique career path, but also to help others along the way.

Notably, this year, Apple had increased the number of winners from the 350 awarded in previous years to 375 so even more students could be included in the event and recognised for their artistry and ingenuity.

And as a winner, Asmi had a virtual meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook on Sunday, just ahead of the WWDC 2023.

Cook says, “Asmi’s incredible work exemplifies the creativity and ingenuity on display all across this country. 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.”

The app playgrounds covered topics as varied as healthcare, sports, entertainment, and the environment. This coding opportunity has allowed the students to share their passions with the world.

Why Asmi Jain created her app

While at Medi-Caps University, Asmi found out her friend’s uncle had to undergo brain surgery. As a result, he was left with eye misalignment and facial paralysis. Taking up the challenge, Asmi designed her winning app playground to track a user’s eye movements as they try to follow a ball moving around the screen.

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, speaking about what inspired her to create the app playground, says, “It was important for me to create an app playground that could positively impact the lives of people like him. 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, and I hope it can one day serve as a therapy tool that people like my friend’s uncle can use.”

Asmi added, “When you feel as though you’re part of something bigger, it motivates you and drives you to do better. Coding lets me create things that help my friends and my community. And it gives me a sense of independence that is very empowering.”