PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — An expected 300-plus students from colleges, universities, and high schools across the country will come to Brown Feb. 7 and 8 for the University’s second annual student hackathon, Hack@Brown, hosted in association with the Brown Computer Science Department.

Students will form small teams and dive into a 24-hour marathon of collaborative design and development. The event will kickoff with an opening ceremony featuring Paul Zuchowski, a 1987 Brown graduate from Oracle, and Evan Stites-Clayton, a 2011 graduate from Teespring, delivering keynote speeches. Mentors from 24 companies including Oracle, Microsoft, Two Sigma, and Teespring will be on hand to help out and build projects alongside students. The goal is for each team to create a finished (or nearly finished) product — a new program or app that didn’t exist the day before. A panel of professionals will judge the projects and award prizes at the conclusion of the hackathon.

Hackathons are a growing movement, popping up on college campuses and tech circles all over the country. The first Hack@Brown, organized by a group of student volunteers, was held last year. From the beginning, the students wanted to create an experience unlike any other hackathon — welcoming, inclusive, and inviting to students of all experience levels.

“Everyone is welcome,” the website states. “Whether you’re making your first website or starting with design, Hack@Brown is for you.”

Organizers of Hack@Brown are determined to remove the intimidation factor usually associated with hackathons. “Hackathons are so much more than programming,” the event’s co-director, Sharon Lo says. “It’s about thriving on the collaborative synergy and excitement from all the other students and really just building something amazing together.”

The mission of Hack@Brown permeates every aspect of the hackathon. Jessica Liang, Hack@Brown’s food and logistics director, summed up the event’s ethos in a blog post: “Our belief is that hackathons don’t need to be about getting hyped up on Red Bull, winning $10,000 prizes, or becoming a code monkey for 24 hours,” she wrote. “We want our participants to leave feeling good about themselves because they made something and that’s worth being proud of. Learning is for everyone so Hack@Brown should be for everyone.”

That Hack@Brown should be for everyone is also reflected in how participants are chosen. More than 2,250 students registered for the event (an increase from 600 last year). “Other hackathons choose their participants by asking for résumés and picking the most skilled or experienced hackers,” said Ricardo Medina, Hack@Brown’s student outreach director. However, all Hack@Brown participants are chosen essentially at random, removing selection based on merit.

A significant effort is also made to draw female participants. “Hackathons tend to be overwhelmingly male-dominated,” Medina said. While most hackathons have 10 to 15 percent female attendees, last year at Hack@Brown, 35 percent of the participants were female. The Hack@Brown team, however, believes that there is still room for improvement. Student organizers personally reached out to women in computer science groups across the country in an effort to further increase female presence this year.

This year’s attendees represent 62 colleges and nine high schools. Attendees will be traveling from as far as California and Mexico.

This will be the first hackathon for many of the attendees, so the organizers are making every effort to provide friendly mentors, helpful workshops, and a learning experience that’s rewarding and fun.

“We’re holding an ‘I don’t know what I’m doing here!’ workshop,” Medina added. “Even if this is your first time, we’ll give you the skills you need to build something you can be proud of. We think it’s a really empowering tool.”

The event kicks off Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Salomon Center for Teaching, De Ciccio Family Auditorium. Students will demo their projects between 2 and 4 p.m. Sunday.