28/06/2026
SRM Institute of Science and Technology celebrates a remarkable global achievement.
Shourya Thakur, a pre-final year B.Tech Computer Science student, has been named a Distinguished Winner in Apple’s Swift Student Challenge 2026, becoming the first and only student from SRMIST to receive this honour.
Selected from hundreds of thousands of student developers worldwide, Shourya is one of just 50 Distinguished Winners globally, one of only seven from India this year, and among only nine Indians to have received this recognition since the category was introduced in 2024.
His award-winning project, PurlStead, is an AI-powered iPad application designed to support the early screening of Parkinson’s disease through entirely on-device analysis of hand movements, demonstrating a strong commitment to privacy, accessibility and meaningful innovation.
As part of this achievement, Shourya was invited by Apple to WWDC 2026 at Apple Park, Cupertino, where he attended the keynote, developer sessions, technical labs and exclusive events alongside the world's top student developers. He also had the opportunity to meet Apple CEO Tim Cook and senior Apple leaders during the programme.
This milestone reflects not only Shourya's exceptional talent and dedication, but also the guidance and mentorship of Dr. A. Murugan, Dr. Shashidhara H. S., Dr. Paul T. Sheeba, Dr. R. Srinivasan, Dr. T. Karthick and Mr. Arasad, whose support through the iOS Development Centre at SRMIST has helped nurture globally competitive talent.
Congratulations, Shourya, on bringing global recognition to SRMIST.