CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- About 700 female students from across the country flocked to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for a weekend of computer coding.
The high school and college aged students worked on writing codes in teams of four and they had only 24 to 36 hours to come up the idea and make it work.
Pearl Hacks was founded by a UNC senior who saw the need for female students to get the chance to show off their skills without any intimidation.
"Many of our students have never been to a hackathon before may not be very confident in their ability to code and it helps to be around mentors and to see what they can do in 24 hours,” said Maegan Clawges, the founder of Pearl Hacks.
The event has major sponsors so it cost the students nothing to attend.