Students from across the United States and Canada will travel to Washington University this November for the third annual ArchHacks “hackathon,” where they will work on technology projects alongside mentors from leading companies.

ArchHacks, a student-run hackathon, plans to capture the ideas, ability and talent of students from a spectrum of backgrounds across campus and put it towards building useful inventions in the growing field of HealthTech.

Organizers hope that by focusing on the intersection of health and technology, those participating in the event will be more likely to create or design projects with significance and applications in the realms of personal fitness, disease treatment and prevention, environmental health and more.

“We really want to emphasize how broad that theme is, anything that affects health and well-being in general,” Stephanie Mertz, junior and harbinger for the event, said.

Sponsors of the event include St. Louis based companies Express Scripts and the Centene Corporation, hardware design and manufacturing company Misfit and Google.

Fellow harbinger for the event and junior Allen Osgood noted that the idea for the HealthTech theme came from an experience at a previous hackathon where a student designed an automated, randomized laser cat toy. The complexity of the design and the simplicity of its use lead both Osgood and Mertz to wonder what that effort might look like when put towards something with a more meaningful application.

“So taking that robotic cat toy and turning it into something that, say shortens Alzheimer’s process,” Osgood said.

The event is open for anyone looking to learn about building and designing or hoping to gain exposure to employees of leading health companies—no computer science or design skills are necessary.

“When people hear ‘hackathon’ they think you have to be an expert coder,” Mertz said. “But what you really need is a desire to learn—there’s people there to teach you.”

“We’re trying to find students who have a passion for building things,” Osgood added.

ArchHacks will take place from November 4-6 in Bauer Hall and last for 48 hours. Prizes are provided by sponsors and will be awarded in various categories. Applications to enter are now live.