Are your kids interested in playing games or like creating games? Kids coding is growing rapidly in popularity as more and more parents and educators see that it is an important 21st-century skill best taught early. But for some, this passion for playing with technology leads them to create and become a part of some amazing things. One such thing is the WWDC.
The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is a conference annually held by Apple Inc. in San Jose, California. Apple uses the event to showcase its new software and technologies for software developers. At the WWDC Scholarships are given to talented students who create an app and showcase it. The developers selected receive a scholarship to attend the WWDC and one year of membership in the Apple Developer Programme free of charge.
Apple has run this programme for students at WWDC since 2011 and has hosted thousands of students at the conference. Coding is a life-long skill, and they welcome students who are active learners in STEM organizations as well as those still in school full-time.
They believe that coding is an essential literacy that not only teaches technology but teaches new ways to think and bring ideas to life. We are proud to offer several free, self-guided programs that make it easy for kids to start coding from home today — even if their parents don’t have any experience themselves. In fact, it can even be a great thing to learn together.
For all those interested, Apple has just announced it will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference 20202 virtually, beginning June 22, 2020. It also announced the Swift Student Challenge, an opportunity for student developers to create their own Swift playground and show everyone their love for coding and innovative thinking.
We caught up with 3 Indian students who have bagged WWDC scholarships over the past few years and were the winners. We asked them about their love for coding, their experiences at the conference and how life has changed since they went to WWDC.
Rishav Kumar – He is studying in Grade 10 and delivered his first-ever TEDx Talk at TEDxLangford, Victoria, Canada. He runs his own Software Solutions Startup which has proven to be successful in India and abroad, especially for tailored software solutions.
Jay Fikre – He is currently in 12th Grade at Macro Vision Academy (Apple Distinguished School) in India and started coding 3 years ago and he was working on an AR game when he won the WWDC student scholarship in 2019.
Ashwat Prasanna – He is in grade 6 at Kings Al Barsha school in Dubai. Journey through space-time would be an accompaniment app to his book by the same title.(soon to be out)
We got each of them to tell us a little about them, their journey and how they have taken their learnings and experiences in creating something unique.
When and how did your interest in STEM activities develop?
Rishav – At 9 years old, I would ask my mother to take me to a market where we can get all the parts possible. Taking these parts, I would make cars and remote-controlled objects that could often be seen roaming around the complex I live in. That’s how I started to develop a huge interest in STEM activities. My parents’ are doctors and once their Prescription Software and Invoicing Software crashed due to being outdated. I made them their new software from scratch.
Jay – When I got admission in Macro Vision Academy, in 11th grade, I saw students doing some activities on iMac, that’s when my interest in STEM activities developed.
Ashwat – As a second-grader, I greatly enjoyed sharing knowledge about space and science. I published my work as a book – Journey Through Space-time in 2017. That was when I received my first Macbook. Later, I came to know about the Apple Accelerator program and the team helped me improve the layout of my code as well as debugging.
How old were you when you become a part of the WWDC scholarship programme?
Rishav – When I won my first even WWDC Scholarship and attended it at San Jose California, I was 15 years old.
Jay – I am 17 years old and I heard about WWDC from Vijay Sukhwani, a System Analyst of Macro Vision Academy. He told me about WWDC and that year I got selected for my project in WWDC 19.
Ashwat – I came to know about the WWDC through the Apple Accelerator team. Once I heard about it, I applied immediately. I was awarded a scholarship for WWDC 19 when I had just turned 11 (a month after my birthday).
How was the experience of attending the WWDC and meeting people from all over the world and sharing a common love for technology?
Rishav – It cannot be described in words. It was the best time of my life. The Apple Team cheering for us and welcoming us into the venue felt so special. I felt the best when I could enter the venue by showing the “WWDC Scholar” ID Card. That was the best. I am grateful that I was able to travel there with my parents which made it all the more special. Meeting people from all over the world has been a very good learning curve to communicate with like-minded people. There were immensely talented developers like PixelMator’s developer, I absolutely loved the conversation and interview with him!
Jay – As a student developer, I joined WWDC 2019 as a scholarship recipient. It was an enjoyable experience. It is more than a $1599 ticket for entering the conference. It is an opportunity for everyone to connect with other people and improve developing skills. There were many intelligent and hardworking developers from all over the world, and learning new things about Apple technologies is a great opportunity and a wonderful experience. All developers are the same at WWDC.
Ashwat – The WWDC was one of the most amazing experiences and it was very fun. I got to learn a lot about Apple Frameworks (I couldn’t attend all the labs, and sessions, though). It was surreal to sit in the audience during the keynote speech. But the biggest thrill was in meeting excited programmers and exchanging ideas.
What was your first reaction when you heard that you had won the scholarship?
Rishav – I had not got an email from Apple regarding my scholarship. Heartbroken I went to sleep expecting to get an email soon that I had been rejected again for the second time. When I woke up at about 4 AM, I just unlocked my phone just to see if anything was there. I had to wash my eyes to believe and re-read the line which said: “You’ve been awarded a WWDC Scholarship”. I ran to my parents to wake them up and say that I am a WWDC Scholar! They were very excited for me too!
Jay – My first reaction when I heard I had won was like an out-of-body experience–like this couldn’t be happening to me. I didn’t quite believe the email I received. I was afraid it wasn’t legit, that it was spam. But it wasn’t. My disbelief transformed into happiness and delight. Wining the WWDC scholarship is one of the most significant achievements of my life.
Ashwat – I was 10 years old and 3 years below the eligibility limit for the scholarship. Yet I was encouraged to apply both by the Apple accelerator team and my parents. Understandably, I was a little sceptical. When I saw the email, I was very surprised and at first thought, it was a prank (until I saw the sender address, when I got so excited I almost still didn’t believe it!)
How do you manage to balance school work and managing your coding?
Rishav – When the work is online, I get to save a lot of time in commute and can get a lot done in a click. Basically, my aim is to manage my time and not get distracted. I list down my tasks for the day and what all projects are to be completed. And then, I completely set aside time for studying where I don’t interrupt with my other work. So my day is a good balance between schoolwork and the other projects while making time for relaxation and enjoyment too. This makes me work my best towards all the things I do!
Jay – The year I won the WWDC scholarship, I was in the 12th class. So, I was doing programming for 2 hours a day only. It was hard to do programming with 12th class studies.
Ashwat – I usually try to finish off my schoolwork and my homework during the free time we get between classes. Then when I get home, I can spend time trying to program.
Do you think being a WWDC scholar is/will make a big difference to your career path?
Rishav – Careerwise, I think a WWDC Scholarship is a very prestigious achievement and most companies already know about the WWDC Scholarship Programme. For one’s own experience, it is a great learning curve for all of us where we get to communicate and network with so many talented developers and attendees. So yes, WWDC Scholarship makes a big difference in any field which we are in.
Jay – Yes, Being a WWDC student scholarship winner will make a big difference in my carrier path. It is not easy to win the WWDC Student Scholarship. I worked hard and I plan to continue to pursue my passion.
Ashwat – I most certainly hope so. I hope to one day lead the technology division of a futuristic tech giant like Apple and I think winning this scholarship will get me in touch with the right network of mentors and help me further my knowledge.
What’s your personal advice for WWDC scholars this year?
Rishav – Creative Ideas are supported immensely by Apple’s Review Team and they love creativity and usefulness of your playground. They have even listed clearly on their website about which factors they look into in a playground. I think if you follow their guidelines and develop a very creative form of a playground, you will be accepted. Also, I’d encourage you to use the latest technologies which are trending in the consumer market at the time of your submission.
Jay – My advice for WWDC Scholars this year is that they need the regular practice of all useful Apple Technologies. Hard work is essential for winning the WWDC Scholarship. Make sure you check and run your code after every edit and to watch out for bug, run the code in debug mode.
Ashwat – I first come up with all possible ideas (approx. a day or two) and then got outside opinions and narrow it down to one idea. Then I look at identifying what I need to learn to make the App. Then I go step by step from the most important step to the finishing touches (in case something doesn’t turn out to work) and learn what I need to. I like to annotate my code with a lot of comments so that I don’t forget about what I have done and can identify where something goes wrong.
Tell us about the apps you have developed and what you are working on
Rishav – My app – Do – To Do List Manager- was made to help people stay organized. As a student’s life where I was managing a team for the development of Software Solutions, I felt the need to organise my tasks which is often not done which leads to failure of projects/deadlines. So I thought that what could be a better opportunity than to organise my day by building and using my own app!
Jay – I am currently working on a project which helps my village in the present COVID situation. In this project, some essential shops like Medical, Grocery Store, General Store, etc. are included, these shops give home delivery to customers using this App. It is like an e-commerce app. It prevents people from coming out of their homes.
Ashwat – My app called Quickvert is a handy tool to convert scientific units from imperial to metric and vice versa. The idea for this app came to me during a science lesson in school where we were introduced to different measurement units and how to convert between them. Another is called Beacon: This is a simple offline map meant for the elderly or children who would rather not have a complex navigational app. I realized, on a vacation with my family, that certain map apps have too many features which aren’t used on a day to day basis and need internet
Dhvani Shah
Mansi Zaveri
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KSP Team
Mansi Zaveri
