North American Bancard Sponsors UM's 48-Hour Hackathon

 North American Bancard, the Troy-based payment processing firm, last week announced its sponsorship of the University of Michigan's College of Engineering's 48-Hour Mobile Applications Hackathon (http://tinyurl.com/24tzbcd).

Organized by Elliot Soloway, an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, the "North American Bancard Pay Anywhere 48-Hour Mobile Apps Hackathon at the University of Michigan's CSE Division" is designed to challenge undergraduate computer science students to create an original mobile application for either the iPhone, Android or Windows Phone 7 within a 48-hour timeframe. 

The event provides students with the resources to develop an app that is both functional and creative. 

NAB is providing prizes and food for the participants. Students with the winning mobile apps will receive Amazon gift cards.

Solway expressed gratitude for NAB's support and said that it "would be great for Michigan to become a mobile technologies hotbed."

The hackathon was held over the weekend at UM. The winning apps were to be selected by the students themselves.

"We are looking forward to partnering with the students at the University of Michigan on this initiative," said Danielle Crane, NAB human resources director. "These ambitious students will be working for 48 continuous hours, putting their knowledge and skills to the test. It's exciting to be able to offer them the opportunity to turn classroom knowledge into innovative and practical applications."

This is the third year for the contest, which is held on campus at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.  Sponsors in the past have included Apple and Google.

More at www.nabancard.com or www.engin.umich.edu.

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