Whiz kids

One clever person once said, «Age ain't nothing but a number» but these youngsters should be applauded for the impressive amount of tech accomplishments already on their résumés. Some of the best and brightest whiz kids have learned complex coding languages, become certified technicians, and developed iOS apps – all by the age of 9.

1.Whiz kids can.... even by the age of nine.

Exceptionally young computer prodigies from across the world are using technology to harness the greater good, and we're inspired by their youthful spirit and drive. Meet six precocious kid programmers and preteen IT prodigies who will remind you that anything is possible, even before you hit double digits.

2. Young computer prodigies use technologies to make the world we live in better and we are inspired by their spirit and drive

Marko Casalan, Macedonia By the time he was 8, Marko was a certified computer systems administrator and, by 9, a certified computer systems engineer. The young IT prodigy holds four Microsoft certificates: MCP, MCDST, MCSA, and MCSE. He's even chosen to spread the knowledge wealth by teaching computer basics to other students at his elementary school. Marko is something of a geek hero in Macedonia, where Prime Minister Niko Gruevski awarded the youngster his own IT lab to help fulfil his potential.

3. Marco Casalan was.... by the age of 9.

Lim Ding Wen, Singapore In 2009, the world's youngest iOS developer was 9-year-old Lim Ding Win, who wrote an art app for iOS called Doodle Kids and Doodle Kids for Android. The precocious young programmer started coding in Complete Pascal and Apple soft BASIC on an Apple IIGS (so retro!) at the age of 7. Ding even hosted a YouTube series called The Apple IIGS Show.

4.Lim Din Wen started coding in..... at the age of 7.

Zora Ball, Philadelphia Seven-year-old Zora wowed the audience at the University of Pennsylvania's "Bootstrap Expo," where the first-grader presented an original mobile game that she built herself. She used the Bootstrapping programming language, which is based on purely algebraic and geometric concepts. Zora went off the cuff and reconfigured the mobile game during her presentation, proving her mastery of the language. Zora attends Harambee, a charter school in West Philadelphia, where a program called STEMnasium Learning Academy focuses on computer programming and other STEMrelated coursework. She's the youngest individual to create a full version of a mobile video game, and we can't wait for her creations to hit the app store.

5. Zora Ball used Bootstapping programming language, based on.... to create her mobile gameat the age of 7.

Santiago Gonzalez, Colorado You may not have heard of 14-year-old Santiago Gonzalez, but you might have used one of the 15 iOS apps he created that are available in the App Store. The teenage software developer is currently enrolled in college and will earn a bachelor's degree by the time he is 16. He's studying engineering at Colorado School of Mines, where he's a research assistant on a professor's energy efficiency project. But computers aren't his only interest – he's also a talented crocheter. Santiago's ultimate goal? To earn a Ph.D. in computer science at Stanford and work at Apple. Learn more about Santiago's story from Prodigies, a series by Thinkr TV.

6.Santiago Gonzalez is...

Arfa Karim, Pakistan In 2004, at the age of 9, Arfa Karim was the youngest person to become a Microsoft Certified Professional and was invited by the legend himself – Bill Gates – to visit Microsoft HQ in Redmond, WA. The young Pakistani software developer unfortunately suffered from an epileptic seizure, which left her in a coma, and passed away in January 2012 at age 16. A technology park in Lahore, Pakistan, was dedicated in her name.

7.Arfa Karim was..... to become a Microsoft Certified Professional