42 Barcelona is here, the most innovative programming campus
The second half of 2021 brings the opening of 42 Barcelona, the world’s most innovative programming campus. The project is located at the Barcelona Activa Technology Park, with 1,622 square metres of floor space and a capacity for 600 students. The 42 model has more than twenty campuses around the world, providing digital training for tomorrow’s professionals in a changing labour market. The campus becomes operative thanks to the initiative of the Fundació Telefònica, in collaboration with the Catalan government’s Ministry for Business and Knowledge and the City Council, through Barcelona Activa.
Admission to the Campus 42 Barcelona is free, and no previous technical knowledge or qualifications are required. Students must be over 18, be eager to learn, with a positive and persevering attitude. They must get through two stages to access the campus:
- an online test
- an on-site trial period of 26 days
The goal of 42 Barcelona is to respond to the needs of the labour market and prepare society to train future programmers and qualified digital professionals in the city, and to attract tech talent.
The demand for digital profiles rose by 80% between 2017 and 2019, while the number of people to fill those jobs rose by 30%. In addition, the number of ICT jobs has risen despite the Covid-19 crisis, with a year-on-year increase of 6% in the third quarter of this year.
Model 42
The 42 school was founded in Paris in 2013, when the IT industry was affected by a significant shortage of programmers. The school is now present in more than twenty countries, such as Belgium, Morocco, Finland, Russia, Brazil and Japan.
The model offers job opportunities in technologies such as cybersecurity, big data, AI, blockchain and IoT, using a methodology of learning between equals, play-based activity and self-learning. The school also trains students in attitudes and skills which go right across the board, such as effort, tolerance towards frustration, the ability to overcome, resolution of problems, cognitive flexibility and teamwork.
