Gifted Atlanta

The University of West Georgia invites teens to its 2024 “Hackathon” software design event, taking place on Saturday, March 9, at the college’s campus in Carrollton.

Participants will work in small teams to design simple applications that address a given community challenge. Students can come with friends and plan to work together as a team, or register alone and find teammates at the event.

Teams will use either Scratch or MIT APP Inventor, two simple coding platforms, to create their applications. However, the event organizers emphasize that participants don’t need to have prior coding experience, as they will be able to learn from more experienced participants or from mentors who will be available to assist them. Additionally, not all team members need to focus on coding — some may work on other aspects of design, implementation and promotion.

Hackathon is open to students ages 13 to 18 who are in middle school or high school.

Registration is $30, plus a $3 processing fee. Students who need financial help can apply for a scholarship that pays the registration cost.