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Geek Culture

Singapore Student Wins Apple's Swift Student Challenge With Focus App Concept, Is Invited To WWDC, Gets Attention Of Tim Cook

Concerned with short attention spans and the need for instant gratification among the younger generation, 16-year-old St. Joseph's Institution student Jatin Rakesh opted to submit a concept app that focuses on keeping people's attention span. What he didn't expect was to not only win Apple's Swift Student Challenge and be among one of 50 Distinguished Winners globally, but he also received an invitation to attend the recently concluded Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), and got noticed by Apple CEO Tim Cook in the process. Jatin Rakesh (top row, 10th from the right) posing next to Apple CEO Tim Cook and fellow Distinguished Winners. 'I wasn't expecting to meet Tim Cook as part of our tour, but was pleasantly surprised when he joined the Distinguished Winners' group photo next to the iconic rainbow arch at Apple Park,' remarked the excited student of his week-long experience visiting Apple Park in Cupertino, California. 'I had butterflies in my stomach when he decided to stand next to me and put his arm around me for the photo! Meeting someone as respected and inspiring as Tim is a true bucket list moment I will never forget.' And he has his mother to thank for this journey, as she was the one who pushed him to start his coding journey, which began when he was just 11 years old, with block coding and subsequently, syntax coding with the help of a private tutor. These two coding structures are concepts that even the average adult will struggle to comprehend, but it was his mother who encouraged him to do so. 'At first, I joined reluctantly,' Jatin recalls, 'but as I went through the stages of coding, I learnt that coding is so much more than clacking keys – it made me realise how it can empower people's lives.' And that empowerment led him towards Apple's Swift Student Challenge, a prestigious international competition that began in 2020 with the goal to support and recognise young coders and their creative ability. His winning concept app was among the 350 winning global submissions for the year, with his exceptional work further earning him an invite to Apple Park. His winning entry, Attention Tractor , is a short story-based simulation game featuring a hamster named Theo who has trouble focusing. The app playground, which refers to conceptual prototypes that are not full apps, includes a series of mini-games alongside its simple narrative that encourage the fostering of positive habits to improve one's attention span, such as setting an early bedtime, exercising active listening, as well as the importance of healthy eating and meditation. Attention Tractor On a personal level, the idea stemmed from wanting to help his generation of peers focus, tackling an apt problem faced by many in this fast-paced digital age of short-form content like 30-second TikToks. It also hit closer to home, of wanting to help his younger sister after witnessing its negative effects first-hand. 'My entry was inspired by the insight that my generation tends to have low attention spans.' he explains, 'With the proliferation of social media, and according to my research, this can negatively impact long-term focus, concentration, and mental health, and can worsen if left unaddressed over time.' 'I also wanted to address this issue because I wanted to see how I could help my younger sister manage her short attention span, as I've seen it affect her in various ways.' Attention Tracor After two previous attempts at participating in the Swift Student Challenge, he took the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and following two months of hard work, his efforts earned him an all-expenses-paid trip to WWDC 2025, where he made connections with global app creators and shared in their experiences. 'I was able to learn more about accessibility and how the user experience on Apple's ecosystem can make people's lives better.' says the young developer, 'The experience really showed me the diversity of the global developer community and reminded me of what we all have in common – to make people's lives easier and more efficient through code and the apps we create.' 'Being around experienced developers and other Distinguished Winners, we discussed ways to improve our apps, share goals, and learn more from each other about Apple's technologies,' adds the former Kranji Secondary School student, who has quickly taken in the feedback received on his code, along with ideas that have made him rethink how he presents himself and his apps. While studying at Kranji Secondary School, Jatin, along with three of his friends, developed a travel planner app, Journify . 'That's what makes being part of the developer community so amazing – you know you are not alone, and that there will always be other smart people with better capabilities and ideas to help you out, because we all share a vision of using technology to make people's lives better.' While his coding and app creation journey has only just started, Jatin is fast realising that coding can play a big role in his future. 'My passion for coding has continued to grow – programming a website is only bound by my imagination, and the freedom of coding has given my life a whole different meaning and allowed me to get creative.' So, what's next for the budding app developer? For now, exams are his main priority, although he hopes to continue working on Attention Tractor, evolving it from an app playground to a full-fledged app that can benefit countless others. 'There is one thing I'm certain of, though, and that is making a positive impact in another person's life and building apps that help the community benefit and grow. My biggest goal in life is to be a good human being and be remembered as someone who used technology to empower people and help others in their daily lives.' Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. Apple Singapore swift student challenge wwdc WWDC 2025