Ahead of Apple’s annual conference, Tim Cook meets Indian student

CEO says it was wonderful to meet Akshat this week and see how he's created a whole new way to share his love of classic games

New Delhi: Before kicking off this year’s Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), the company’s CEO Tim Cook on Monday shared his experience of meeting with student developers who won ‘Swift Student Challenge’ and one of them was Indian student Akshat Srivastava, who was present at the meeting.

“Kicking off #WWDC24 in the best way possible — meeting with student developers who won our Swift Student Challenge. It’s amazing to see their creativity and determination on full display,” Cook wrote in a post on X.

---

 

Kicking off #WWDC24 in the best way possible—meeting with student developers who won our Swift Student Challenge. It’s amazing to see their creativity and determination on full display! pic.twitter.com/b56k8kcGZs

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 9, 2024

On meeting Srivastava, the CEO said it was wonderful to meet Akshat this week and see how he’s created a whole new way to share his love of classic games with the next generation.

“Akshat is part of a growing generation of developers from all across India who are bringing their best ideas to life through coding, and making an important impact in their communities and around the world,” he added.

Srivastava, 22, said that the highlight of his trip to Apple Park in Cupertino was presenting his project to Cook. “I recently had the incredible opportunity to visit Apple Park in Cupertino, for winning the Swift Student Challenge,” Srivastava said.

He also mentioned that Cook’s genuine interest and insightful feedback were incredibly “inspiring and made all my hard work feel worthwhile. This unforgettable experience confirmed my passion for technology and motivated me to keep pushing boundaries and making an impact”.

Srivastava hails from the city of Varanasi and studying at BITS Pilani K K Birla College in Goa. He started coding at the age of 16 years. Apple’s annual Swift Student Challenge recognises the best in student coding, and this year, it has added a new category to its ranks.

Of 350 winning submissions, 50 students have been named Distinguished Winners for building app playgrounds that stand out for their innovation, creativity, social impact, or inclusivity. This year’s winners came from all over the globe, representing more than 35 countries and regions.