RICHMOND, Va., September 17, 2018 - Who holds the No. 1 computer science hackathon in the U.S.? The Department of Computer Science at the Virginia Commonwealth University College of Engineering, according to 2018 rankings by the official student hackathon league Major League Hacking.

More than 250 students from universities throughout the region will pull a programming all-nighter at VCU Engineering’s fifth annual RamHacks held Sept. 22-23, 2018. The college’s first hackathon, RamHacks was created in 2014 by students who wanted to bring veteran coders and programming newbies together to team up — and dream up — a new software or hardware application, then prototype it in 24 hours.

“I want students to know that, in addition to being a competition to solve challenges proposed by industry sponsors, RamHacks is also an opportunity to find a dream job, make friends, have fun — and even make some money. There are many awards waiting for participants,” said Alberto Cano, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and RamHacks faculty adviser.

Students can build their own teams of up to four members or join a team when they arrive. Cross-university collaborations are encouraged.

Specialists from industry and academia will share the latest programming technologies, tips and techniques at three Tech Talk sessions. Richmond restaurants will also be on hand with meals and midnight snacks and video games will be available so students can take a breather from creative coding.

RamHacks concludes Sunday afternoon with judging by a multidisciplinary panel of experts for first, second and third place awards. Event sponsors will also issue special challenges with additional prizes.

More information on RamHacks, along with complete schedule, registration links and corporate sponsorship information, may be found at https://ramhacks.vcu.edu/.

Media are welcome to attend.