From March 28-29, HackPSU will turn Happy Valley into Hacker Valley. The organization will host its annual 24-hour Hack-A-Thon in an effort to bring creative minds and innovative talent together.

The event will take place in the IST building, and over the course of the 24 hours, teams of hackers from around the country will get together in a competitive environment to collaborate on projects that change the way we look at technology. HackPSU is not limited to computer science or engineering majors — it welcomes any undergraduate student with the desire to learn and create. The organization has a focus on beginners, which distinguishes it from other events of its kind.

HackPSU is sponsored by Innoblue and the Penn State chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and is free to participants. Organizations like Penn State World Campus, Microsoft, and Civitas Learning all sponsor the event. Additionally, companies in attendance are often interested in hiring students for internships.

“Penn State world campus is our biggest sponsor, and we want to encourage teams to build tools that help facilitate online learning, or even learning in general,” HackPSU co-director Christina Platt said.

Teamwork is strongly encouraged in the competition and there are very few limits on project type. Anything from hardware, to web or mobile software can be imagined and created over the weekend.

Projects will be judged on creativity, utility, and technical difficulty by a panel from both Penn State and industry representatives in attendance. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the competition. Last year, awards included cash prizes, Beats Headphones, free software licenses, and Major League Hacking Badges.

Registration closes this Sunday, March 2 at midnight. For more information and to register for the event, visit the HackPSU website or email the staff at [email protected].