Two students from Saudi Arabia are among the global winners in Apple’s developer programme, highlighting the region's potential in the growing technology segment.
Jawaher Shaman, the creator of the My Child app that assists people with speech conditions, is among the top three “distinguished winners” of the Swift Student Challenge, joining Elena Galluzzo from Canada and US-based Dezmond Blair.
A total of 50 distinguished winners were chosen, from a pool of 350 winning submissions, and they have been invited to attend Apple's annual Worldwide Developer Conference, which runs from June 10 to 14 at its headquarters in California.
Ms Shaman's app was inspired by her struggle with stuttering, which she developed at age five and became debilitating.
“Coding for me opened up a world of possibilities … I hope to use technology to help children who are neurodivergent because I know what it’s like to feel different,” said Ms Shaman, who plans to work as a programmer in Saudi Arabia.
The other Saudi winner, Afrah bin Jubayr, developed Fin's Adventure, an app focused on saving the environment.
Her “coding skills in hand” led to create “a meaningful game to raise awareness”, she told The National.
Ms Shaman and Ms Bin Jubayr, both 27 and from Riyadh, are enrolled at the Apple Developer Academy in the Saudi capital, which was opened in 2022 – the first in the Middle East and North Africa, and which focuses on female developers.
They also follow in the footsteps of Sabrina Sales, a Filipino based in Abu Dhabi who has twice won Apple's programme.
The 2024 winners “once again demonstrate the breadth and depth of what is possible when talented young people use coding to make their mark on the world”, Susan Prescott, vice president of worldwide developer relations at Apple, said.
The global app market continues to grow, and app marketplaces have rolled out several initiatives to attract coders to help expand their digital offerings.
Apple opened its first developer academy in Brazil in 2013, and the company now has 18 around the world, the latest of which opened in Bali, Indonesia, last month.
The iPhone-maker is confident that its student developer programme will continue to hone more talent in the Middle East and contribute to the growth of start-ups and entrepreneurship, Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president for environment, policy and social initiatives, said during her visit to Dubai in 2023.
Apple does not provide region-specific figures for its academies, but globally, these institutions have helped students to create more than 1,500 apps and establish more than 160 companies, according to the company's latest data.
Governments in the region, led by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are also recognising its importance.
Dubai, for instance, launched the One Million Arab Coders initiative in 2017 and a challenge programme in 2021, seeking the best talent among the youth’s ranks and equipping them with the skills needed for the future.
“The vitality of the region in general and everything going on [within the developer community] is impressive,” Ms Jackson had told The National.
The Apple App Store is part of its strong services segment. The company on Thursday reported that total revenue from its services division in its fiscal first quarter grew about 14 per cent annually to almost $23.9 billion, which was a record.
Apple also announced its largest share buyback programme, worth $110 billion, after reporting an annual drop in its March quarter net profit and revenue.
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
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Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
More coverage from the Future Forum
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
