How I won the  WWDC21 Swift Student Challenge

WWDC 2021 is coming this June, in an all-online format. Apple also announced that this year’s Swift Student Challenge, an opportunity for young developers to demonstrate their coding skills by creating a Swift playground, is now accepting submissions. In this post, I will give some tips on how to win this year’s contest.

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Important info

In case you aren’t sure what I am talking about - you can read this page for more information about the contest.

Developing a playground

Developing a creative playground is challenging. However, it is possible. Here is how you can do it:

1. Pick an ambitious idea
2. Think of a unique project
3. Try to use Apple’s promising frameworks(SwiftUI, ARKit, etc.)

How to write the essays

Here are the rules I followed while writing my submission essays:

• Academic writing style
• Avoiding clichés
• Being honest(you can provide links at the end of the essay)

My 2020 submission

Last year, I was lucky enough to be the winner of WWDC20 SSC. My submission was a simulator of Kazakh national instrument - Dombra. The main functionality of the app is the ability to play on the instrument. I also provided some information about dombra, added a metronome feature.

Overall, the project isn’t especially technically complex: the idea itself, in my opinion, was the reason why I have been awarded last year.

Screenshots

Final tips

1. Aim for creativity
2. Set aside enough time for your essays
3. Follow all the rules of the challenge mentioned by Apple on its website
4. Try and do your best

Good luck and believe in yourself!

Until next time!

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