People try new Apple products after their launch in Cupertino, California, the United States, Sept. 12, 2023. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)
"At Apple, we believe that everyone can learn to code and build apps, and we're proud to support and recognize aspiring student developers with the Swift Student Challenge each year," says Susan Prescott.
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Apple's Swift Student Challenge will open in February 2024, including a new category recognizing 50 Distinguished Winners, the company said on Wednesday.
The challenge has allowed thousands of students around the world to showcase their creativity and build real-world skills to take into their careers and beyond. Since 2020, students participating in the challenge have joined a worldwide community of developers using Swift, the same programming language used by professionals, to create the next wave of groundbreaking apps, according to Apple.
"It's a great tool for beginners to explore, learn, discover, and experiment with coding and app development on iPad and Mac," Apple said.
In an independent survey of more than 1,000 students in the United States in September, researchers from YPulse found that 92 percent of students believe it is important to learn how to code and 94 percent believe coding is an important skill for the future job market.
The survey also found that 85 percent of students have not yet taken steps but would like to learn to code, and 48 percent don't know where to start.
"At Apple, we believe that everyone can learn to code and build apps, and we're proud to support and recognize aspiring student developers with the Swift Student Challenge each year," said Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations and Education & Enterprise Marketing. ■