Young coders are coming by the hundreds in three weeks, drawn from from around the country for what's called "the world's largest student hackathon."

From Jan. 17-19 at a downtown Detroit office building, soloists and teams with up to four members will "build computer applications, compete for prizes and get a look at the city beyond the bankruptcy headlines," David Jesse writes in the Free Press.

The event . . . is being sponsored by MHacks, a student-run organization at the University of Michigan. Last semester, the group sponsored a similar event at Michigan Stadium that drew 1,214 college students. It was the largest hackathon ever held. Students came from Stanford, MIT, Yale and the University of Pennsylvania; in all, 70 universities and high schools were represented. This is the first time the group is hosting the event away from U-M’s campus.

It'll be at the former Chase tower on Woodward Avenue, called The Qube since Dan Gilbert acquired and renovated it in 2011. Quicken Loans and Bedrock Real Estate Services, both owned by Gilbert, are among sponsors.

Those who haven't signed up yet for the free event are too late. Registrants this past weekend filled the last five dozen slots.

Here's how organizers describe the third such gathering at their website:

MHacks isn't just for hardcore programmers. It's not just about competing. It isn't about energy-drink-enabled sleep deprivation. It isn't about starting a viable business. Hacks is for creators. It's for those of you who see problems and want to tackle them, using existing skills and augmenting them with the skills of those around you.



Dylan Hurd: "These students could possibly want to work here and help rebuild the city."

In the Freep article, UM computer science junior Dylan Hurd or Darien, Conn., tells how the hackathon could boost its host city's image:

“We’re going to bring 1,000-plus top engineering students from around the country to Detroit. “People in Michigan know how great the metro Detroit area is, but people around the country don’t necessarily know that. They only hear of Detroit’s bankruptcy story. MHacks is a way to bring top computer science students from around the world to show them that Michigan matters. By coming to Detroit, these students could possibly want to work here and help rebuild the city.”

-- Alan Stamm