Dresdner develops interactive chemistry app and wins international prize!

Dresdner develops interactive chemistry app and wins international prize!

The Swift Student Challenge from Apple has once again brought out the creativity and innovative strength of young developers worldwide. The competition, in which thousands of students take part every year, challenges participants to develop innovative apps that address real-world challenges. This year Carl Seifert, a research student at TU Dresden, was recognized as one of the 50 “Distinguished Winners”. This honor is given to the participants who particularly stand out in the categories of creativity, technical quality and innovation.

For his contribution, Seifert submitted the app “ChemBuddy,” which was designed as an interactive periodic table for chemistry lessons. The app allows students to obtain information about chemical elements with a simple tap. Seifert explained that he wanted to use such interactive apps to make lessons more vivid and offer students practical experience. However, the app is not the first project that earned him recognition. Previously, he developed the applications “FieldLab” and “PhysicsAssistant”, which have already won awards in recent years. “FieldLab” simulates particle-based systems in augmented reality, while “PhysicsAssistant” explains word problems using machine learning and natural language processing.

Networking and future plans

With his outstanding performance, Seifert will take part in the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in Cupertino. Here he hopes to gain valuable networking opportunities with other developers and experts from the industry. His commitment to the Internet of Things and resource-constrained systems also shows his foresight in the technology world. Seifert is actively involved in the development of the open source operating system RIOT, which is specifically optimized for low-resource devices. He also plans to make his apps available in the App Store to make them accessible to a broader group of users.

Seifert is not alone in his distinction. Jan Steinhauer from Würzburg is also among the winners and has developed the app “DyLexAid”, which supports people with dyslexia in reading. Steinhauer is a human-computer interaction student and shares his knowledge on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube. Both developers share a passion for the Swift programming language, which has been particularly valued by Apple since its launch in 2014. Both view the challenge of user interface design as a central aspect that needs to be mastered when developing the apps.

About the Swift Student Challenge

The Swift Student Challenge aims to promote young talent in programming and arouse enthusiasm for app development. Students aged 16 or over who do not work full-time as developers are eligible to participate. The submission deadline for this year's challenge ended on February 23, 2025. A total of 350 winners will be selected, 50 of whom will also receive an invitation to WWDC. In addition to the invitation, the winners also receive a one-year membership in the Apple Developer Program and a voucher for the certification exam for app development with Swift. These awards highlight the social impact and inclusivity of the submitted projects, which is an important aspect for the evaluation.

The exciting development and projects in this year's challenge show that the future of app development lies in the hands of creative and talented young people who can use technology to develop meaningful solutions.