WWDC 2024: Apple CEO Tim Cook meets 22-year-old Indian student developer

Apple CEO Tim Cook

Apple’s annual developer conference — WWDC — kicks off later tonight. Ahead of Apple’s big event, CEO Tim Cook shared a post on X revealing his interaction with an Indian student developer. Cook met 22-year-old Akshat Srivastava, studying at BITS Pilani K K Birla College in Goa.

“I met so many extraordinary developers when I visited India last year, and I saw so much excitement for the many ways that technology can enrich people’s lives. And it was equally 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,” Cook said on meeting Srivastava.

Srivastava submitted an app — part of Apple’s Swift Student Challenge — called MindBud, inspired by the playful moments he shared with his nephew and crafted to offer kids a gateway to classic games and activities from his own childhood. With a mission to foster analytical and creative thinking, MindBud features four engaging mini-games designed for kids to enjoy with family and friends.

Srivastava has travelled to Cupertino as one of the winners of the Swift Student Challenge. “The highlight of my trip was presenting my project to Tim Cook, which felt like a dream come true,” he said. On meeting Cook, he further said that the Apple CEO’s  “genuine interest and insightful feedback were incredibly inspiring and made all my hard work feel worthwhile.” It was an unforgettable experience for the student developer and he said that it “confirmed my passion for technology and motivated me to keep pushing boundaries and making an impact.”

“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,” Cook said on his meeting with the student developer.

The 22-year-old leveraged SwiftUI, AVKit (audio), PencilKit, and FileManager to create MindBud. The idea is to give users a a seamless and immersive experience to make classic fun learning meet the new age technology.

This isn’t the first app Srivastava had created. During the Covid-19 crisis, he developed an app to track vacant beds at hospitals via social media posts on twitter and Facebook.

Srivastava has been invited to WWDC 2024 as he is among the 50 students have been named Distinguished Winners for building app playgrounds that stand out for their innovation, creativity, social impact, or inclusivity. These 50 students have been invited to a three-day in-person experience at Apple Park that includes tailored programming and the special event at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).