If you didn’t know, 42 is a school which teaches you how to be a developer, and computer prorgramming among other things. It was established six years ago in Paris, and now they’re expanding their reach. The caveat? The school is open-to-all and tuition-free. Doesn’t sound like a bad deal huh? With that, Sunway Education Group (SEG) signed a partnership agreement with 42 to open the first 42 campus in Malaysia.
SEG was represented by its CEO, Dr Elizabeth Lee, and its non-profit incubator and accelerator, Sunway iLabs’ Director Matt van Leeuwen while 42 was represented by its Director of International Development, Olivier Ducourant.
The 42 campus in Malaysia will join the existing network consisting of 23 other partner campuses in the world (France, USA, Belgium, Morocco, Finland, Netherlands, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, Armenia, Japan, Colombia, Spain, Canada, Italy, South Korea, Thailand, and Australia).
“We are extremely excited about this partnership and we are looking forward to open 42 KL as the first tuition-free training campus in the fields of computer coding, digital, software and telecommunication right here in Sunway City by May 2020. With 42’s help, we can profoundly game-change the way we address the talent gap for tech development in the country. 42’s vision and non-profit status is aligned with the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation’s, especially because it gives everyone an equal opportunity to learn,” said Dr Lee.
Congratulating Sunway Education Group on the partnership, Minister of Communications and Multimedia Gobind Singh Deo said;
“This initiative is a game-changer in our vision to build a connected digital nation, which is powered through aggressive steps to expand infrastructure and empower Malaysia with the necessary knowledge to use that infrastructure to our benefit. This is what the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP) is geared
toward.The Government is always looking for opportunities to partner with the private sector in improving and enhancing the tech industry in Malaysia. I am very pleased with this latest development and am sure it will be instrumental in helping us build the necessary tech skills while lowering the cost of education for those who wish to pursue their interest in this field. Congratulations to the Sunway Education Group on this initiative.”
So How Does It Work?
The basis for learning in 42 is in “peer-to-peer” learning. You’d be in charge of your own success with a 100% hands-on project environment. To go forward, students would need to rely on the group, help each other out, and give and receive information. It works based on collective intelligence like in the real professional world. You don’t have to cram everything, but rather experiment and figure out your own ideas.
The program is free and open to all with no prior diploma requirement. However, you’ll need to be a minimum age of 18. Here’s how it exactly works:
Students will register on the website, where a selection will be done online via an aptitude test. After that, students who are selected will participate in the “Piscine” or “Pool” for a month to complete computer projects. From there, the best will be selected and admitted to 42.
