42 Heilbronn, where technology, industry and people met

Discover 42 Heilbronn, one of the three 42 campuses in Germany, nested in a beautiful spot on the Neckar river.

The city of Heilbronn has it all: a really dynamic city niched in a small country setting. The atmosphere is unique, allowing people to interact with each other and the community. It has already seduced a lot of international companies, employing thousands of people, sometimes even for their headquarters. Industry is also diverse: automobile industry of course, but also media, AI… and some very, very big vineyards and wineries! Already, 42 Heilbronn is in touch with Porsche Engineering, to offer quality opportunities to their students.

“Fun fact: the region of Heilbronn has the highest number of patents per square mile in all of Europe! It’s one of the economic powerhouses of Germany and one of the economically strongest regions in the whole of Europe and comparable to other regions in the world.”
Thomas Bornheim, CEO 42 Heilbronn

42 Heilbronn’s main partner is the Dieter Schwarz Foundation, investing in an educational ecosystem there. The foundation also sponsors universities and high schools, from building to research and teachers. They acknowledge the need for new forms of training, towards all individuals, side by side with more academic or classical tracks.

While first steps towards a 42 campus in Heilbronn started in 2019, the campus opened at the start of 2020 — and was very quickly able to open its doors for its first candidates. Starting “small”, at the moment 42 Heilbronn has 300 students, with the hope of going to a thousand in the coming years with regular Piscines throughout the year.

“The Piscine is the closest you can get to an adventure with your brain. I don’t think there’s any comparable experience where you can dive into something completely difficult, in an environment that is relatively safe, and with a crowd of people trying to do exactly the same crazy thing as you. It’s like a learning road movie!”
Thomas Bornheim, CEO 42 Heilbronn

Already, students at 42 Heilbronn are distinguishing themselves at local Hackathons. Last month, they made first and second place at the Mobility Hack(athon) organized by MHP. More than 150 participants and 8 teams in the final! They prepare themselves in the Hacker Dojo, a special place at 42 Heilbronn to hone their competition skills.

“I’m a very competitive person — for me, competition is where you test your skills. I support the hacker dojo in 42 Heilbronn in any way I can with motivational speeches, feedback sessions, and pizzas. I can really encourage the other 42 campuses to have one too!”
Thomas Bornheim, CEO 42 Heilbronn

“At 42 Heibronn, more than experience, you can create the world of tomorrow, from a beautiful perspective of the German province and the Neckar valley.”
Thomas Bornheim, CEO 42 Heilbronn