The “MHacks”hackathon will be hosted this weekend at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (Jan 16-18).
According to the University of Michigan Engineering Department, the event is the largest student-run hackathon in the country. In 2014, the school says MHacks attracted over 1,200 college and high school students from 100 schools.
Dylan Hurd, Director of Sponsorship for the 2014 MHacks, clarifies the purpose of the event:
“People always ask me if a hackathon is where we hack in and break systems. That is not at all what a hackathon is about. A hackathon is a 36 hour programming marathon where people create awesome products to be used in the world real world”.
Awards for winning teams include over $10,000 in cash and tech prizes, as well as internship opportunities at some of the country’s top-tech companies (including Facebook, LinkedIn and Microsoft).
This promotional video about last year's event gives you a little flavor of how the hackathon is run:
http://youtu.be/LtuvTNA6MgM
- Ari Sandberg, Michigan Radio Newsroom
