For 24 intense hours of programming and invention, up to 400 of the University of Cambridge’s most talented students from around the world will gather in the Cambridge Corn Exchange to push the limits of technology.

Free to take part in, students have applied to compete either as individuals or as part of a team and those who are selected are supported on the day by experienced professionals. The event takes place on Saturday 30 and Sunday 30 January.

Attendees will be coming from 62 countries over four continents, bringing with them only a laptop, any hardware relevant for their hack and, if they feel they won’t make it through to the next day, a sleeping bag.

Prizes are awarded in open categories judged on creativity and technical competence as well as under some specific categories including hardware, machine learning, virtual reality and security.

Managed by an ambitious team of six University of Cambridge students, the event is supported by around 30 sponsors including Google, Bloomberg, Darktrace, Jane Street and McKinsey.

The co-host and bigger sponsor is Thales, a leading global provider of cybersecurity solutions.

Nathan Wangliao, founder of Hack Cambridge and undergraduate student at Hughes Hall, said: “Hack Cambridge is going to be one of the biggest events of its kind with up to 400 attendees.

“Unlike most US colleges like Yale and Harvard, Cambridge still lacks an annual hackathon.

“This is a shame, but it also means that there are many talented students looking for opportunities to get into technology and coding.”