New Delhi, Nov 10 (IANS): Apple has announced that its next "Swift Student Challenge" will open in February 2024 and include a new category recognising 50 distinguished winners, who will be named for standout submissions.

The challenge tasks students with creating an innovative coding project using the Swift Playgrounds app. Since 2020, students participating in the challenge have joined a worldwide community of developers using Swift to create the next wave of groundbreaking apps.

"Apple is releasing new coding resources for students and educators, working with our community partners on dedicated Swift programming, and sharing advance notice of the Swift Student Challenge timeline for 2024," Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations and Education & Enterprise Marketing, said in a statement.

Students will be invited to submit their app playgrounds for the Swift Student Challenge during a three-week window in February 2024. They will need to sign up at developer.apple.com to be notified when the challenge is open.

The company said out of 350 overall winners, 50 distinguished winners will be invited to Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, next summer, where they’ll have the opportunity to connect with each other and the Apple team.

"App Development with Swift training equips faculty with the skills to guide students, fostering an environment where curiosity is celebrated, creativity is encouraged, and every idea is given the opportunity to flourish," said Roger Tadajewski, NC3’s executive director.

All winners will receive a one-year membership into the Apple Developer Programme, which enables them to submit apps to the App Store and receive support from Apple.