Asmi Jain's work exemplifies Indian iOS developers' creativity: Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook, who met Indore's Asmi Jain who was selected among the winners of WWDC23 Swift Student Challenge, has said that the thriving iOS developer community in India always fascinates him and 20-year-old Jain's work only exemplifies the creativity.

As an Apple Swift Student Challenge student winner, Jain had a virtual meeting with Cook.

"I had an amazing time meeting so many people from India's innovative iOS developer community earlier this year, and Jain's incredible work exemplifies the creativity and ingenuity on display all across this country," said the Apple CEO.

"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," Cook added.

While at Medi-Caps University, Jain found out her friend's uncle had to undergo brain surgery. As a result, he was left with eye misalignment and facial paralysis.

She sprung into action, designing her winning 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.

Speaking about using coding to solve problems, Jain said that "coding lets me create things that help my friends and my community".

"It gives me a sense of independence that is very empowering," she added.

Every year, as part of its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple issues a challenge to students across the globe: create an original app playground using the Swift coding language.

This year, Apple 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.

"At Apple, our mission is to help people everywhere pursue their passions and bring their best ideas to life," said Cook.

More than 15,000 developers have been hosted at the iOS App Design and Development Accelerator in Bengaluru.

The iOS App Economy is an engine of growth and opportunity for developers, supporting one million jobs across the country in gaming, app design, software development and more.