Apple's Swift Student Challenge will open in February

Apple is preparing for the 2025 Swift Student Challenge, designed to put young coders' creativity and coding skills to the test.

On Tuesday, Apple announced it will open its annual Swift Student Challenge in February. This initiative reflects Apple's commitment to empowering students worldwide to explore the world of coding and app development.

Launched in 2020, the Swift Student Challenge provides a platform for students to showcase their coding skills and join a global community of Swift developers.

Submissions will open in February for three weeks. Apple will recognize 350 Swift Student Challenge winners. Fifty of the winners will be classified as Distinguished Winners, who will receive additional recognition and be invited to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino next summer.

"At Apple, we are committed to supporting and nurturing the next generation of coders. Every year, we're incredibly impressed by the ingenuity of the apps students are creating, and we're excited to see what the next round of the challenge will bring," Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations, said in a press release.

Those interested should sign up at Apple's developer website. Apple has designed a helpful page that outlines how coders should prepare for the contest, too.

Apple has updated its Swift Coding Club resources to help students prepare for the Swift Student Challenge. The Swift Coding Club starter kit offers activities to empower students with a passion for app development to explore Swift and SwiftUI further and share their knowledge with their peers.

Lastly, Apple has created new Develop in Swift tutorials designed to help students take a first step toward a career in app development using Swift, SwiftUI, and Xcode.

Winners of the 2024 Swift Student Challenge received AirPods Max, a certificate, and a free one-year membership to the developer program. Winners also were invited to attend WWDC in person.