42 is an international network of institutions of education in computer science where students are trained through peer-to-peer pedagogy, and project-based learning. The first school was founded in Paris in 2013 by Xavier Niel, Nicolas Sadirac (former executive director at Epitech), Kwame Yamgnane, and Florian Bucher (former executives at Epitech). The school does not have any professors and is open 24/7. In 2019, the 42 Network was established to bring together partner campuses using the same educational model.
42 was announced in March 2013 by French telecommunications entrepreneur Xavier Niel, together with Nicolas Sadirac, Kwame Yamgnane and Florian Bucher, three former executives of the computer science school EPITECH.
The school was created in response to what its founders described as a shortage of skilled software developers and as an alternative to the traditional French higher-education system. It was designed to be tuition-free and open to applicants regardless of previous academic qualifications.
Niel initially committed €70 million to the project, including €20 million for its establishment and €50 million to fund its first ten years of operation. The first selection sessions, known as the Piscine, took place during the summer of 2013, and the first class of around 900 students began its studies in Paris in November of that year.
Expansion to Silicon Valley
In May 2016, 42 announced its first campus outside France, in Fremont, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Niel committed US$100 million to the project, which was intended to reproduce the tuition-free and peer-learning model developed in Paris.
The Fremont campus, known as 42 Silicon Valley, marked the first attempt to reproduce the model internationally under the 42 name. It subsequently became one of the reference campuses for the school's international expansion.
42 Silicon Valley closed in 2020.
Creation of 42 Network
During the second half of the 2010s, the educational model developed in Paris was adopted by a growing number of schools outside the original campuses. Some operated under the 42 name, while others retained their own identities, including 101 in Lyon, 19 in Belgium, 1337 in Morocco, Codam in the Netherlands, Hive in Finland and School 21 in Russia.
In June 2019, 42 formally launched the 42 Network to bring these institutions together within an international network using a common educational model. The network was announced as comprising 20 partner campuses in 14 countries, 13 of them operating under the 42 name.
The launch included both existing schools and planned campuses in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Among the new locations announced at the time were Madrid, Yerevan, Tokyo, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Quebec City.
The network expanded rapidly thereafter. By 2020, 42 reported 33 partner campuses in 22 countries on five continents.
Admission and registration
The candidate must be at least 18 years old or hold a baccalauréat (it is possible to start an application for candidates in the year of their baccalaureate). No diploma is required for applicants over 18 years of age. In 2015, an experiment took place with Pôle Emploi to train a group of around thirty unemployed seniors in programming for ten months. This training has since been renewed each year.
The first selection is made using a series of logic and memory tests on the institution's website intended to assess the students' abilities to learn computer science. The second selection is called the “piscine”, meaning "pool" in French: an intensive four-week selection process during which the applicant must carry out practical work in the C Language as well as community service, sometimes considered by students as a degrading punishment. It's not uncommon for students to work 10 to 12h per day, including on week-ends, to complete the "piscine". Under the eye of the educational team who scrutinizes all their actions from the "jar" (office of the educational team) using surveillance-based big data: where are the students sitting? With whom are their usually pairing? ....
Registration for training is free and concerns each year about 850 students in Paris.
Training structure
There are no lectures or practical work supervised by professors. Students are free to organize their days to carry out the projects proposed by the teaching team. The establishment is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The training provided is intended to be inspired by the changes brought about by the Internet with a pedagogy qualified as "peer-to-peer". Depending on the course chosen by the student, it delivers an RNCP title of level 6 or 7: a certificate recognized by the French State, but no diploma.
The mode of operation of 42 was inspired by that of Epitech: selection using "swimming pool" sessions and teaching according to the project mode. 42 Network attempts to establish 24/7 technology support communities in major cities worldwide through the participation of collaborative entities, achieving integration of education, industry, and technology exchange.
Program
The new "42Next" curriculum is a gamified, peer-to-peer program divided into four main stages:
Selection (The Piscine): A 4-week intensive C and Shell immersion to test suitability for the model.
Foundation (Core Curriculum): Lasting 12–18 months, covering 7 pillars including C (Memory Management), Algorithms, Systems & Networks, Python (OOP), DevOps/Infrastructure, Modern Web, and—newly added—Artificial Intelligence (LLMs and RAG).
Immersion: A mandatory 6-month paid internship in the industry.
Mastery (Specialization): Students can choose advanced tracks to reach "Level 21," focusing on fields like Advanced AI, Automotive & Mobility (specifically relevant to the Wolfsburg location), Cybersecurity, and Graphics.
Business model
The investment was made by Niel: [citation needed] 70 million euros, including 20 million for the creation of the Parisian establishment and 50 million to cover its operating costs for 10 years. The objective when creating 42 is to allow the creation of 150 companies each year, including five Internet giants, in the hope that these young shoots pay their apprenticeship tax to the establishment. At the start of 2015, Sadirac said "If we are not able to generate five big successes per year, it is because we will have failed. Then there will be no more reason to finance us."
Controversies
On November 2, 2014, one of the 60 cameras installed at Nicolas Sadirac's request, caught him spanking a young woman, followed by sexual intercourse, in one of the school's amphitheater.
In 2017, with less than 10% female students, a report from the magazine Usine Nouvelle highlighted sexist behavior at 42. This included pornographic websites as wallpapers, misogynistic pornographic content being commonplace on some public Slack channels, and upskirt pictures. Fabienne Haas, director of communication, argued that since the slack is managed by the student themselves, it is hard for the school to moderate it. Some sanctions against students were taken, but none were expelled from the school.
In July 2018, Sadirac left after a financial audit ordered by Niel, giving away all his parts in the school.
In June 2024, Québec numérique (the non-profit organization hosting 42 Québec and its campus) announced its closure in the following month, blaming a missing grant payment from Quebec's Ministry of Employment and Social Solidarity. The Ministry blamed "possible irregularities [...] on the management of the grant."
42 Network
Organisation and common model
Campuses within 42 Network are operated and financed locally by different organisations, including companies, foundations, public institutions and non-profit organisations. They share the educational principles and selection methods developed by 42, while their governance and funding structures vary between locations.
The network is based on a common curriculum and peer-to-peer, project-based learning model. Local campuses may nevertheless adapt parts of their programme to their economic environment and local employment needs.
Campuses
42 Network is a changing international network. New campuses are regularly announced or opened, while some projects do not ultimately become operational. Existing campuses may also be renamed, close, or leave the network.
The following list includes campuses currently presented by 42 Network as partner campuses on its official website.
Former members of the network, as well as other schools that have used the 42 educational model without currently being part of 42 Network, are listed separately below.
te
42 Network has evolved since its creation, with some campuses closing or leaving the network and other organisations adopting or adapting the educational model developed by 42. Former network campuses and other historically associated schools are therefore listed separately from the current partner campuses above.
Former 42 Network campuses
Several campuses that were previously part of 42 Network are no longer active members of the network.
Name
Country
Location
Opened
Status
42 Silicon Valley
United States
Fremont, California
2016
Closed in 2020.
42 Québec
Canada
Quebec City
2021
Closed in January 2025 after public funding for the campus was not renewed.
Hive Helsinki
Finland
Helsinki
2019
Left the 42 curriculum in 2025, switching to the platform and curriculum developed by Kood.
42 Adelaide
Australia
Adelaide
2021
Former Australian 42 campus; its operator, KIK Innovation, subsequently ceased operating the campus under the 42 licence.
Other schools associated with the 42 model
Some organisations have used the educational model or curriculum developed by 42 without all of their individual locations necessarily being members of 42 Network.
School 21
Sberbank launched School 21 in Moscow in 2018 using the educational model developed by 42. In June 2019, School 21 joined the newly created 42 Network as one of its partner schools.
A second School 21 campus opened in Kazan in 2020, and the organisation subsequently expanded to numerous cities across Russia. School 21 continues to operate a network of campuses using a peer-to-peer and project-based educational model derived from 42.
Because later School 21 locations are not individually documented as partner campuses of 42 Network, they are not included in the list of current 42 Network campuses above.
