Just recently, a 16-year-old Malaysian student, Nur Alia Jannah has made headlines after her app has helped her win the Apple’s Swift Student Challenge.
16yo M’sian creates app “Tracklist”, wins Apple’s Swift Student Challenge
Sharing her story to SAYS, Nur Alia revealed that prior to participating the challenge, she has never learned coding. Inspired by the apps showcased in the Swift Student Challenge back in 2021, the 16-year-old then decided to learn coding, in hopes that she would be able to participate.
Source: SAYS
Despite not owning a Macbook, Alia’s determination did not fail her as she was able to discover Swift Playgrounds on the iPad, an app allowing her to engage coding as a beginner. On top of that, her early coding experiences that was puzzle-based has helped her lay a solid foundation for her projects.
“The idea of ‘Tracklist’ came by as I wanted to track the songs I listened to, which includes my reviews of the albums, artists and genres”, she said.
Realising that there wasn’t a specific app that allowed users to review and rate the songs they’ve listened to, her app became significant as it is the pioneering solution to a gap in the industry. Explaining further, she shared that ‘Tracklist’ would run like other reviewing platforms like Rotten Tomatoes and Goodreads, where users are able to review and discover music through the title, artist, and genre.
Source: SAYS
It’s not coding if there are no challenges
Taking over 3 weeks to develop the app, Alia shared that her journey to creating app was met with several challenges, including the time where she lost a large amount of data.
“I lost most of my app files and only had outdated codes. I had no choice but to redo some of the parts”, she said.
Source: SAYS
Going through that hurdle, Alia then understood the importance of having backups, gaining problem solving skills. On top of that, the 16-year-old prodigy would constantly seek for feedback from her friends, family and industry experts to help with the functionality and app interface.
Crediting her success, Alia believes that her willingness to accept constant constructive feedback, consistency and possessing continuous learning attitude has helped her find a footing in the developer community. Through Apple’s Swift Student Challenge, Alia was able to pick up a new skill and prove herself.
Source: SAYS
As of now, Alia’s app ‘Tracklist’ is in its beta stage. Congratulations Alia! Indeed, a job well done!
Also read: 29yo M’sian software engineer gives up career to plant chillis, earns over RM50,000 per season!
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