Troy University Department of Computer Science’s annual Hackathon competition, a 24-hour coding event that tasks students with solving real-world problems, is set for Nov. 8-9.

Students will arrive at Patterson Hall beginning at 8 a.m. for check in followed by an opening ceremony and a description of the project at 10 a.m. They will then spend the next 24 hours working with their team to develop a program related to cyber security, gaming, web development or language models. 

“This event encourages students to collaborate, take risks and explore new ideas,” said Dr. Bernard Chen, department chair. “It’s exciting to see how it continues to evolve, inspiring even more creativity and passion for computer science and cybersecurity.”

Mentors will be available throughout the event to provide support and guide participants through workshops and thought-provoking discussions. The hack will end at 8 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 9 with the closing ceremony held at 10 a.m.

Teams are judged on innovation and creativity; technical excellence; functionality and completeness; impact and usefulness; teamwork and collaboration; and presentation and pitch. Awards are given for first, second and third place along with an MVP Award for the team member who showed the most leadership and skill.

Students from all majors are welcome to join the hack. Students not part of a team will be assigned to one.

“Hackathon is a great opportunity for students to challenge themselves and put their ideas into action,” Chen said. “You don’t have to be a computer science major to take part—everyone brings a unique perspective that helps spark innovation.”

Registration is open now and is available online.

The event is sponsored by the Department of Computer Science, C Spire Foundation and Air University Innovation Accelerator.

For more information on the Computer Science Club or TROY Hack, email csclub@troy.edu.