Kuala Lumpur, Nov 26, 2019 – Six years after its creation in Paris (France) and three years after opening a second campus in Silicon Valley (USA), 42 reaffirms its ambition to train the best developers in the world.
Pursuing this goal, the pioneering school, open-to-all and tuition-free, trains thousands of students each year to meet the shortage of human resources in a sector with a strong future.
Sunway Education Group (SEG), one of the largest education conglomerates in Malaysia, recently 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.
“The Malaysian digital economy has grown faster than Malaysia’s overall GDP growth, on average, 9% annually in value-added terms between 2010 to 2016; earmarking it as a source of expansion for the country. However, an Economist’s Intelligence Unit study had identified Malaysia is one of the 10 cities in Asia that is facing digital talent shortages. There isn’t a better time to establish 42 KL – it will build the talent to support the country’s goal to be the preferred digital economy for investments and tech talent in the region,” said Sunway iLabs Director, Matt van Leeuwen.
He added that 42 KL will kick off as a public-private partnership between Sunway Education Group, Sunway Group, and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). Sunway iLabs will seek to work with public and private institutions, start-ups, as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to effectively solve their talent challenges with 42’s revolutionary pedagogy.
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.”
Surina Shukri, CEO of MDEC, continued by saying: “Digital talent development is core to our efforts to accelerate growth of Malaysia’s digital economy. The establishment of a 42 campus in Malaysia is hugely significant to achieve our aspirations of putting Malaysia at the heart of digital Asean, especially for future-savvy talents. We are excited at the potential collaborations between academia, industry and government, both within the nation and between the 42 campus network to nurture talents that will strengthen the quality of our digital workforce or launch their world-leading future startups.”
Sophie Viger, General Manager of the 42 Network, concludes: “the launch of our international network is a milestone in the history of 42. Since its creation, we are motivated by trying to create the best school in the world, and today, we are ready to tackle this challenge by duplicating the model that has met with worldwide success. As a pioneer of digital schools, we are moving ahead with the 42 Network while staying true to our DNA and the values we promote, without compromising on the excellence of education.”
Created in 2013 by Xavier Niel, a successful French serial entrepreneur, 42 has now become an international reference for students and companies. In six years, the best computer programming school of the world* has trained thousands of professionals, a way to answer the shortage of digital talents while addressing economic and technological mutations, thanks to the quality of its unanimously recognised education.
An innovation in technology training educationThe innovative pedagogy of 42 lies on “peer-to-peer” learning. As participants without teachers or classes, students are in charge of their own success and the success of their comrades in a 100% hands-on project environment. To make progress, they have to count on the strength of the group, give and receive information, changing roles between helping others and being helped. This learning model lies on collective intelligence, as in the professional world, and helps develop talents, not by reproducing or learning by heart the model of a reference teacher, but by searching, experimenting and defending their ideas. Upon entrance in 42, you are not waiting for knowledge to trickle down from those who know. You must be ready to seek by yourself, to meet with others to understand before implementing and sharing its function with others.
A tuition-free, open-to-all education
To train the best talents in computer programming, 42 gives everyone a chance. Entirely free, open to all, no prior diploma requirement, independent of origin, gender or age (minimum age is 18 years), 42 is also an innovating social lab engaged in building the society of tomorrow; a society that is more inclusive, caring, and supportive. Without registration or tuition fees, selection of students is only done through talent and motivation and unfolds in several steps: after registration on the website, a first selection is done online via an aptitude test. After this test, the selected students participate in the “Piscine” or “Pool” for one month to complete computer projects. The best among them will be admitted to 42.
The best infrastructure to train the best developers
Students of 42 KL have at their disposal the best computer resources to work in the best conditions. 42 KL is targeted to open in Sunway City by May 2020 with its first intake to be slated for August. Open 7 days a week and 24 hours a day, 42 KL will offer a friendly environment, with pleasant and functional collaborative spaces and the most modern computer equipment: high-end iMacs, connected to a high-speed network, very large data servers and the best technologies, in a nutshell, fitted out to best support this innovative education framework. Students will also benefit from being part of a well-established education hub in Sunway University, and a complete startup ecosystem driven by Sunway iLabs.
Encourage international mobility of students in a multi-cultural environment
Under the auspices of 42 Paris and structured around a common charter of practices and values, 42 KL just like all partner campuses in the 42 network will use the same selection process as well as a common core and fundamental knowledge to train skillful developers. Setting a common reference to smooth out key talents among all students will be the guarantee, whatever the campus, on the level and quality of what they acquired. From then on, advanced students can move on to more ambitious projects in line with the environment, culture, and ecosystem particular to each campus.
In a worldwide digital environment without borders,acquiring an international experience has become a must. 42 encourages the mobility of its students which, once they have mastered the fundamentals, can register in any other school of the network while benefiting from the same education environment. This wide open international strategy can also be felt in the setup of cross-campus projects that gives them a taste of real professional experience (collaboration with partners from various work cultures and time zones).
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