Computing enthusiasts everywhere are in for a treat this weekend, with two sponsored hackathons taking place in Europe and the US. The University of Colorado at Boulder will be holding its fourth annual hackathon on February 24th and 25th, with 600 hackers expected for the 24-hour event. HackCU, an \"invention marathon,\" was started by students who wanted a space for working on independent projects, be it coding, designing interfaces or fiddling with Photoshop. Anyone 18 or over is welcomed to the free event, and food will be provided. All projects must be started from scratch during the event, but teams may be brought or formed there. 

In Switzerland, Start Hack 2018 will take place from February 23rd to 25th, at St. Gallen. Over 400 hackers are invited to work on their own projects or new ideas, with this year\'s focus on AI, Blockchain, IoT and AR/VR (Augmented Virtual Reality). The 35-hour session will commence at midnight on Friday 23rd and run straight through to Sunday morning.

Both projects are incentivised by the opportunity to meet others in the field, either peers or mentors, and several companies offer competitions with substantial cryptocurrency-related prizes. NEO, for example, who are promoting both events, is offering a prize of 500 GAS (NEO\'s fuel token), worth approximately US$23,000, to competition winners.