Missouri Southern State University, in cooperation with the University of Arkansas,  is set to host the first ever LionHogTech hack-a-thon, running from Friday, Oct. 17 to Saturday, Oct. 18, inside Plaster Hall on the MSSU campus.

In addition to MSSU and Arkansas, LionHogTech 2025 will bring students, innovators, and tech enthusiasts from multiple area colleges and universities together to collaborate on creative technology driven solutions to real world problems. 

Participants will work in hands-on teams to design, code, and present their projects in coding, AI, and robotics before a panel of judges made up of MSSU and Arkansas faculty, along with industry professionals. Over two days. students will build or present innovative and creative projects in a bid to win. The event encourages innovation, creativity, teamwork, and exchanging ideas from students from different academic backgrounds. 

“This is the first year ever that MSSU is hosting a hack-a-thon,” Edward Emmanuel, President of the MSSU Smart CIS Club, said. “We are excited to bring this event to MSSU and have so much support from the tech communities in Southwest Missouri and Northwest Arkansas … I hope participants are able to learn some new technical skills about development, learn how to work as a successful team, and learn how to manage team efficiently” 

The hack-a-thon will begin with an opening ceremony at 4:30 PM Oct. 17 in Cornell Auditorium, presided over by MSSU President Dr. Dean Van Galen. For more information or to register, visit the LionHogTech 2025 web site here.

LionHogtech 2025 is a joint collaboration by MSSU’s Smart CIS Club, and the Smart Agriculture and Food Engineering Lab at the University of Arkansas’ College of Engineering.