Hackers converge on UPenn

    This weekend, the University of Pennsylvania is hosting the PennApps hackathon, which the organizers describe as the largest student-run event of its kind. Coders, tech entrepreneurs and young men and women who will disturbingly soon be our bosses are showing off their skills to sponsor firms like Facebook, Twitter and Google. This year’s theme is Simplicity, which challenges participants in the 48-hour hackathon to make something traditionaly difficult or complex into something easy to use or access. So if you’re interested, head down to the Towne Building at the University of Pennsylvania.

    Penn’s emerging tech community has pumped out some profitable startups in recent years. Members of Penn’s Class of ’08 founded Invite Media and sold it for $70 million to Google, while companies like Venmo (College and Engineering ’05) and Ampush Media (M&T ’05) have Penn roots, as well.

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