Abu Dhabi’s free, no-teacher and no-classroom coding school has opened admissions for its second round of students.
42 Abu Dhabi is offering more 1,000 seats for aspiring coders after welcoming 225 students to its Mina Zayed campus in September.
Traditional classes and teachers have been replaced with the school and is open to students 24 hours a day. It lies on peer reviews, coding projects and internships. Everyone who goes through the programme over three to five years is expected to emerge as a coder. Leo Filardi, chief executive of 42 Abu Dhabi, commented:
“Coding is no longer the future — it is the present. 42 Abu Dhabi’s peer-to-peer gamified methodology enables students to build a unique repertoire of soft and hard skills.”
The UAE is concentrated on developing and attracting coding talent in its push to build a knowledge-based, technology-driven economy.
In July, the government signed a deal with a host of technology giants, including Google and Amazon, to train 100,000 young people in computer programming with opening 100,000 Golden visas that deliver long-term residency to recipients that specialize in coding.
42 opened its first campus in Paris in 2013. Today it has equipped more than 12,000 students around the world with digital and business skills.The school has been endorsed by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel.
While no previous coding experience or academic qualifications are required to apply, candidates must be at least 18 years old and “display ambition, aptitude, commitment, proactivity, curiosity, creativity and possess an innate ability to adapt and collaborate,” according to the school.
Successful applicants are required to complete 42 Abu Dhabi’s preselection “Game” — an online assessment which evaluates cognitive capacity via logic and memory tests — and attend a virtual briefing on the school’s methodology for teaching and learning.
Future applicants for the next programme, which will begin in March, must submit applications before registration closes on January 4, 2022.
