ONE of the few silver linings of the lockdowns of the last few years was the sudden availability of free time for many.
Of course, while plenty just sat back, others used the time wisely, such as Bernard Lim, who decided to devote time to improving his skills in coding, which has resulted in him being one of 350 students from 40 countries and regions who have been selected as winners in Apple’s Swift Student Challenge 2022.
This is Kuching native Bernard’s second attempt at the competition, having participated in 2020. The 18-year-old took online courses and watched YouTube videos to learn how to code and devised ARScience, an app that uses Augmented Reality (AR) to visually communicate science concepts to students.
“ARscience is actually an exhibition of some of the scientific concepts that fascinate me the most, that I love the most.
“The problem I noticed, when I was in school last year, some of my friends in school couldn’t really understand the explanation provided in the textbook.
“So why not represent everything in AR, where everything is interactive and more interesting and more engaging. I believe that by putting these concepts in AR, people can really learn actively and effectively,” he said.
Bernard attends Lodge Secondary School in Kuching, Sarawak. In July, he will be commencing his A-Levels programme at Sunway College.
In 2017, he started learning HTML, which is the standard code used in the creation of websites. This is an outgrowth of a childhood fascinated with computers and software programming.
“When I was seven I got my first PC and my first iPad and every time I scroll through apps and webpages I’m just fascinated and I question myself like how all those processing and animations are actually done and how they are all possible and this just inspired me and got me curious about software engineering and software development,” Bernard said.
With the power of the Internet (aka Googling) he looked up how to make apps and came across Swift, which is the programming language used to develop apps for Apple platforms. He credits Swift as allowing him to be more creative and to develop his critical thinking skills, because of the various challenges that come with coding software.
“Other than Swift Playgrounds I use Xcode, which is also made by Apple. Xcode is a more sophisticated version of Swift Playgrounds,” Bernard said. Xcode is used for all Apple platforms, not just mobile devices.
“And other than that I also use Microsoft Visual Studio code to make websites using HTML CSS and JavaScript.”
Bernard’s prior submission also utilised AR, this time as an exhibition of the sun and planets in the solar system, highlighting the visual possibilities of the technology.
Inspired by AR games, he realised its potential in the education space, believing that it could enhance productivity in the classroom, because it would increase engagement by the students due to its interactivity.
“I think AR at its current state can be really useful for subjects that require extensive visualisation and understanding like science and geography, but maybe at its current state, which is still kind of a baby state, it is maybe less effective but can still be useful for linguistic subjects like Malay and English,” he notes.
To say coding and software development is growing in importance is a rather obvious notion, but it is nonetheless true that for Malaysia to compete on a global level, more young people – and those competing for jobs in an ever changing environment – will need to hone these skills.
Bernard has words of encouragement for aspiring coders.
“People always say that only geniuses can code and that is entirely false. Personally, I think anyone can code, anyone with the interest can code regardless of your education, your intelligence, your financial status,” he said.
“First, figure out the type of development that you are interested in, whether it’s web development or app development, which is the type that I’m really interested in.
“After that you can search the Internet for free courses or tutorials. And try not to overpay for those courses online, because they are usually equally as good as those (that are) unpaid.
“Lastly you must have the dedication so that you stay persistent because as the saying goes: dedication is the key to success,” he added.
Outside of the competition, Bernard is developing an app that will help students focus on their studies, as well as a grade calculator to calculate GPA and other similar educational metrics.
He intends to take up computer science at university, and will hopefully pursue software engineering to further develop apps, though not necessarily in the education sector despite his current interest in that area.
“Get started and be prepared to face challenges, huge challenges and you will eventually succeed with persistency.” – The Vibes, June 5, 2022
