DENTON (UNT), Texas -- The Innovation Greenhouse at the University of North Texas will host the Big D Big Data Hackathon beginning at 6 p.m. March 28 (Friday) through March 29 (Saturday) at the Microsoft Innovation Center in Irving, where participants will show off predictive analysis skills to judges, working professionals, entrepreneurs and more.

The Microsoft Innovation Center is located at 7000 Texas 161 in Irving.

Big data is a growing technology trend, says Nancy Hong, executive director of UNT's Innovation Greenhouse.

"We generate more data than ever before, and most businesses do not have employees who are equipped with skills to analyze this data," Hong said. "The Big D Big Data Hackathon is the perfect forum for students and faculty interested in working with big data to gain experience and network."

Lisbeth McNabb, CEO and founder of DigiWorksCorp, former CEO and founder of w2wlink, a professional women's digital platform, and former CFO and chief revenue officer for match.com, will kick off the event March 28 (Friday) with a discussion on turning big data into revenue.

Afterward, participants will gather in teams to work on data sets from cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Teams will then present their work to judges at 7 p.m. March 29 (Saturday), and winners will be awarded prizes.

For more information, or to register, visit the hackathon's Eventbrite page or contact Nancy Hong at Nancy.Hong@unt.edu.

About the Innovation Greenhouse

UNT's Innovation Greenhouse opened in 2013 and is a resource to help students bring ideas to life. The Innovation Greenhouse, located in Sycamore Hall, aims to help students apply what they learn in the classroom, and use knowledge gained through hands-on experience, to succeed in the rapidly growing innovation field.
More information can be found online at http://innovation.unt.edu.