Last June, Nahom Worku earned the ultimate vote of confidence for AccessEd, an application he built to support students in regions with limited educational resources and Wi-Fi connectivity.
The 91亚色 computer science student was one of 50 winners of Apple鈥檚 Swift Student Challenge. As part of the global coding competition鈥檚 prize, Worku was flown to Apple鈥檚 California headquarters, where he showed CEO Tim Cook how the app supports a variety of learning and academic planning functions, all completely offline.
鈥淗e said, 鈥業 wish I had this when I was growing up鈥,鈥 says Worku, who is in his fourth year of studies at 91亚色鈥檚 .
Raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Worku recalls how inadequate classroom facilities and spotty internet service affected his learning. After moving to Scarborough with his family in 2017, he became more aware of the disparities in educational opportunities across different countries.
In the summer of 2023, Worku began a co-op placement with Lassonde鈥檚 kindergarten to industry (k2i) academy, which offers STEM programs to local youth. As a mentor in k2i鈥檚 Work-Integrated Learning program, Worku guided five high school students in developing an app to address the United Nations鈥 Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education.
Combining that experience with his education and previous co-op role developing iOS apps, he took the lead in advancing the work on SDG 4. As part of this mission, he volunteered as an instructor for Black Boys Code, a non-profit focused on closing the diversity gap in the technology sector.
鈥淚 want to give students everywhere an even playing field,鈥 he says.
Then, he came across a social media post about Apple鈥檚 coding challenge.
He spent the next six months building a prototype of AccessEd using AI and machine learning capabilities. He designed the app to review uploaded course materials and answer questions about the content. It can analyze photos of class notes to generate flash cards and suggest high school courses that match a student鈥檚 interests. It also features a task management system to track assignments and tests.
AccessEd aligns with the rise of offline e-learning apps focused on improving equity for learners in environments with limited infrastructure and unreliable internet service. Worku says Apple鈥檚 recognition of his app provided important validation for his idea, and he continues to refine the app, which is now publicly available on Apple鈥檚 App Store.
鈥淢any students don鈥檛 have access to high-quality educational tools,鈥 Worku says. 鈥淢aybe this app can help solve this problem and allow more students to succeed.鈥