Chris Koenig, Microsoft developer evangelist, will be in the atrium of the Reynolds Business Center from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 16 and 17, to help students create Windows Phone applications at “App-A-Thon 2012.”

Aaron Rothberg, UALR’s Microsoft student partner, will host the event in which students will get a free Windows Phone for creating and submitting five Windows Phone applications.

Koenig will be on hand to help with the process, but he said no prior coding knowledge is required to participate. He will also be drawing for prizes throughout the day.

“I encourage all students to take advantage of this opportunity to use their critical thinking skills in a real-world application. Our trial run indicates students with no programming background should be able to complete their five applications and earn their free phone in six to eight hours,” said Dr. Janet Bailey, UALR associate professor of management information systems.

The App-A-Thon is open to all students age 18 and older regardless of major.

For more information, contact Bailey at jlbailey@ualr.edu or Rothberg at aaron.rothberg@studentpartner.com.