A college project at Galgotias University has now found a much bigger spotlight, with Apple featuring the story of a student-led innovation built around a problem many women still hesitate to speak about openly.
At the centre of that story is Karan Kumar, who noticed how conversations around menstrual and emotional health could often become uncomfortable, making it harder for women to seek support when they needed it.
That observation eventually grew into Sakhi, a women’s health app developed by Karan and fellow Galgotias University student Arpita Gupta. Today, their journey has found a much larger stage, with Apple featuring both Galgotias University’s participation in its student developer initiative and Karan’s story on its education platform.
Why Apple Featured Galgotias University
Apple recently highlighted the iOS Student Developer Program, a collaboration involving Apple, Infosys and selected Indian universities, including Galgotias University.
The programme is designed around learning through real projects. Instead of restricting development education to coding alone, students work through the broader process of identifying a problem, understanding users, designing a solution, testing it and refining the product through feedback.
At Galgotias University, students work with Apple devices and development tools including Mac, iPhone, iPad, Xcode and Swift. Faculty members, peers and industry mentors also form part of the development process.
Apple’s feature on the programme also points to a broader change in technology education: preparing students not simply to write code, but to understand why they are building something and who they are building it for.
It is a shift that Dr Dhruv Galgotia, CEO of Galgotias University, believes has become increasingly important as technology evolves faster than traditional curricula can keep pace.
“At this point in time, I think India definitely needs programmers, problem solvers, and leaders who think global and act local,” he says. “Forty percent of what we are teaching today will be irrelevant by the time the students pass out. And we really need to rewire and innovate what we are doing in the classrooms.”
That thinking also explains why experiences built around real-world problem solving matter. The aim is not simply to prepare students for the technologies being used today, but to develop the ability to identify problems, adapt and build for what comes next.
Karan Kumar’s journey became one example of what that approach can produce.
Meet Karan Kumar
Karan, a member of Galgotias University’s Class of 2025, joined the iOS Student Developer Program after a competitive selection process.
Growing up in an environment where women could speak openly about health issues made him more aware of how differently menstrual health was treated outside the home. He noticed that many women around him were hesitant to discuss their experiences or ask for help.
Instead of treating that discomfort as something unavoidable, he began thinking about whether technology could make seeking support easier and more private.
It was during a five-day iOS bootcamp that Karan met fellow student Arpita Gupta, and the idea began taking a more defined form.
The Problem He Wanted To Solve
Menstrual health apps are not new. But Karan did not want Sakhi to become just another period tracker.
As he explained in Apple’s feature, “The goal was never to make another period tracker.”
The larger problem was access to support.
Imagine being away from home and unexpectedly needing menstrual supplies. Asking strangers or even people nearby for help can be uncomfortable. Sakhi was therefore designed to give users a discreet way to seek assistance from nearby people in real time.
Alongside optional cycle tracking, the app includes health information, emotional check-ins and features aimed at helping users seek support during menstrual emergencies. Privacy and control were considered central to its design because of the sensitive nature of the information involved.
Even the name reflects that intention. Sakhi is a Hindi word commonly used for a trusted female friend or companion.
How Sakhi Went From An Idea To A Working App
Karan led UI and UX design as well as iOS development, while Arpita contributed to early user research and health-related insights.
But building the app also meant looking beyond their own assumptions.
As Sakhi developed, the team incorporated inputs from users and medical professionals. Testing and feedback helped them refine how different features should work and how someone dealing with a sensitive situation might actually interact with the app.
Through the iOS Student Developer Program, students had access to Apple’s learning resources and development environment, while Infosys brought industry-oriented mentorship and exposure to how teams and products operate beyond the classroom.
Using Swift and Xcode, Karan and the team gradually moved Sakhi from an idea to a functioning product.
From A University Project To The App Store
The journey did not stop with a classroom presentation or final evaluation.
Sakhi eventually made its way to Apple’s App Store, where it is currently available for iPhone users. The app was launched on the platform in June 2025 and has continued receiving updates since its release.
Its App Store listing describes Sakhi as a menstrual health and emergency-support companion developed at Galgotias University by Karan Kumar and Arpita Gupta. Features currently include cycle and symptom tracking, emotional and physical health logging, and the ability to seek nearby assistance during menstrual emergencies.
For Karan, however, reaching the App Store was not the only measure of success.
Apple notes that the experience changed how he approached development itself, teaching him to listen more closely to feedback and build with greater intention. He now works as an iOS developer, carrying the same user-focused approach into his professional career.
When Student Innovation Moves Beyond The Classroom
What makes Sakhi’s story significant is not simply that students built an app.
It is that an issue rooted in everyday social discomfort became the starting point for a real product.
Apple’s decision to showcase Galgotias University’s development environment and Karan’s individual journey has now taken that story well beyond the campus, placing an Indian student-led innovation alongside education and student success stories from institutions around the world.
For young developers, Sakhi offers a simple reminder of what innovation can look like.
Sometimes it does not begin with trying to invent the next big technology.
Sometimes it begins by noticing a problem people have quietly learned to live with, asking why it still exists, and deciding to build something that could make it a little easier to face.
