AIS becomes the first international school in Hong Kong to introduce a Swift Coding Club, guided by Apple Distinguished School Lead Jeremy Green.
American International School Hong Kong (AIS) has been recognized as the first international school in Hong Kong to establish a chapter of the Swift Coding Club, an Apple-supported initiative that helps students learn coding and app design using Swift and Xcode – Apple’s intuitive programming language for building iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS apps.
Jeremy Green, Apple Distinguished School (ADS) Lead and teacher advisor to the TECHsperts and the Swift Coding Club at AIS, said the club fits naturally into the school’s broader vision as an ADS.
“AIS is one of the few schools that has a throughline in digital creativity – from early childhood through high school – where coding is scaffolded year after year,” said Green. “The Swift Coding Club aligns perfectly with our mission to help students build Creative Confidence in the digital realm by learning not just how to code, but how to think creatively and solve problems with code.”
Connecting Swift Coding Club and the TECHsperts
The Swift Coding Club has become an extension of AIS’s thriving TECHsperts student leadership group, which now includes more than 70 members from Grades 5 through 12. The idea for forming a Swift chapter emerged after AIS collaborated with Apple Education and the Hong Kong Competence Education Foundation (HKCEF) in March 2025 for Hong Kong’s first-ever International Coding Exchange in Singapore. During that event, AIS TECHsperts visited Apple’s regional Developer Headquarters and participated in a series of robotics and coding workshops that sparked their desire to expand coding opportunities back at school.
Since its launch, the club has already led several innovative projects. Earlier this year, the AIS Swift Coding Club hosted Hong Kong’s first “Hour of AI” event, introducing machine learning concepts through hands-on activities.
“Even in this modern age of AI, it’s still important for students to understand the fundamentals of coding,” said Grade 10 TECHspert and High School Communications Lead Sanjay Murali. “Teaching lessons to the group this year has helped us boost our group’s coding foundations while also exploring advanced processes and designs.”
Building Foundations in Coding and Creativity
Using Swift Playgrounds and Xcode, students have been creating personalized apps and games as part of their learning journey. Sanjay emphasized that understanding the logic behind code is essential:
“If students only use AI to generate code without understanding how it works, they won’t know how to troubleshoot or customize it for creative projects. You can’t build something meaningful and reliable if you don’t know how its foundation works.”
Grade 9 TECHspert and Coding Skills Lead Vivin Sharma agreed, adding that coding gives creators more flexibility:
“AI can provide a good template, but true creativity comes when you understand the language behind it. Knowing how to code lets you personalize and innovate much faster than if you rely entirely on AI.”
Both students highlighted that learning to code can – and should – be fun.
“Start with something you’re passionate about,” Vivin suggested. “If you love tennis, try designing a simple tennis video game. If you’re into music, create your own custom music player.”
Sanjay added, “There are many play-based apps that teach coding through games. One of my favorites shows the live code running side-by-side with the gameplay so you can instantly see how your code affects what’s happening on screen.”
Vivin also noted the future opportunities coding provides:
“The video game industry is now larger than the music and film industries combined. The possibilities for students to create, entertain, and educate through digital design are endless.”
Innovation Through Collaboration
One of the club’s more ambitious projects is the development of a schoolwide information chatbot. The goal is to centralize key information – such as weekly newsletters, course descriptions, faculty details, and campus logistics – into one easily accessible app for students, teachers, and administrators.
“This chatbot could make school communication much more efficient,” Vivin explained. “Right now, information is spread across Google Classroom, emails, and message boards. A chatbot that provides accurate, personalized responses would save everyone time.”
The group already has two working prototypes but continues to refine them to ensure accuracy, privacy, and security.
“We’re learning to set limitations so the AI doesn’t pull incorrect data or ‘hallucinate,’” said Vivin. “We also have to make sure the system only includes useful, secure information.”
Sanjay added that ensuring responsible use is also part of the challenge:
“AI systems can be vulnerable to manipulation, so we’re testing different platforms and safeguards to make sure the chatbot stays appropriate and ethical for school use.”
Looking Ahead
As the Swift Coding Club continues to evolve, students aim to deepen their understanding of app design and explore larger projects – such as building a schoolwide metaverse that integrates coding with digital design, further blending creativity with technical skill.
“The long-term goal is to help all members gain the confidence to create and innovate independently,” Sanjay said. “Projects like the chatbot or metaverse give us a space to apply what we learn in meaningful, creative ways.”
Mr. Green sees the club as a major step in AIS’s broader digital creativity framework and an exciting connection to Hong Kong’s growing coding community.
“The Swift Coding Club reinforces our vision of students moving beyond being consumers of technology to become individuals who know how to create with it,” he said. “This year, we plan to take on several new projects, host public student-led workshops, and hopefully participate in another international coding exchange with the HKCEF. The momentum we’re seeing is incredible and reflects AIS’ commitment to leading the way in innovation and digital creativity.”
American International School, 125 Waterloo Rd, Kowloon Tong
