42
A new computer school in Paris has been overwhelmed by some 60,000 applicants.
The school, called 42, was founded by a telecom magnate who says the French education system is failing young people. His aim is to reduce France’s shortage in computer programmers while giving those who’ve fallen by the wayside a new chance.
In the hallways of 42, suitcases and sleeping bags are piled, and people are stretched out on mattresses in some of the corners. There are showers and dozens of colorful bath towels.
Living here for the next month are some of the 4,000 potential students who already made the first cut by passing cognitive skill tests online.
The school’s name is taken from the science fiction classic, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, where 42 is the answer to the question of life.
Sadirac is sure that graduates of 42 will have the real life IT skills to get a job, even though the school’s methods are a complete departure from France’s highly centralized education system. There are no teachers. Students learn by solving problems.
“We don’t want to teach them stuff. We want them to find solutions on problems, because we don’t know the problem in the future. So we are creating students able to learn by themselves.”
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may 2016
French technology entrepreneur and billionaire Xavier Niel (#129 in 2016 and #7 in France with a net worth of $8 billion) is investing $100 million of his own money to bring his Paris-based ’42′ coding school to Silicon Valley.
The name ’42′ is a nod to Douglas Adams’ science-fiction series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, where 42 is the answer to “the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything.”
Based on a unique ‘open education’ model Mr. Niel launched in France 3 years ago, ’42′ has no teachers, books, curriculum or grades and is absolutely free of charge to attend!
be you. 