42 Kocaeli: Paving an Alternative Path for Turkish Students in Tech

42 The Network
3 min readJan 29, 2025

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Launched in 2021, as part of the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Technology’s wider National Technology Initiative, 42 Kocaeli’s aim was to open a new pathway for Turkish students who wish to pursue a career in Tech. With already more than 3000 students having gone through the Piscine and over 300 active students, the campus is looking to grow even further in the coming years.

Located in the Marmara Region, across the Bosphorus from Istanbul, Kocaeli is often referred to as the “Industrial Capital” of Türkiye. It boasts a wide diversity of thriving industries, ranging from defense to conventional trade. Powered by Bilişim Vadisi, Türkiye’s largest tech and innovation hub, 42 Kocaeli acts as a catalyst for tech in the region. It not only offers students new opportunities, but also proposes a wide range of activities such as tech-oriented events, hackathons, innovation workshops and entrepreneurship opportunities.

The campus also greatly benefits from the Bilişim Vadisi ecosystem, which enables students to connect with different companies outside of 42 Kocaeli, ranging from start-ups to larger entities. 42 Kocaeli notably works with many different companies across Türkiye to provide opportunities for its students. As part of these collaborations, 42 Kocaeli students get the opportunity to participate in career days, seminars and mentorship programs. Additionally, both the campus and Bilişim Vadisi provide help and guidance for students who wish to launch their own start-ups.

42’s campuses in Türkiye (42 Kocaeli and 42 Istanbul) quickly garnered interest following their launch. “The competitive advantage of 42 in Türkiye is that it equips individuals both with technical skills aligned with the increasing complexity of modern technologies and soft skills — critical thinking, creativity, curiosity, collaboration, and communication — placing them at the core of the learning experience.” Meltem Akbulut Yıldırmış, Director of 42 Türkiye, tells us.

While this edge initially led to a lot of applications, with 3000 students taking part in Piscines over the course of the last 3 years, it also came with its challenges. “Many universities send their students to our campuses to make up for shortcomings in their own education systems.. However, relying on the 42 educational model to fill these gaps only reinforces universities’ control and sustains the traditional higher education system, ultimately hindering the adoption of more innovative approaches..” Meltem Akbulut Yıldırmış analyzes.

Despite this challenge, 42 Kocaeli has weathered the storm and undergone several major changes over the course of the last year. As Meltem Akbulut Yıldırmış puts it: “we have recently united 42 Kocaeli and 42 Istanbul under the 42 in Türkiye governance, to work more effectively on our reputation. We’re also working towards achieving national accreditation, which we hope will enable 42 to be a recognized training program in its own right” Meltem Akbulut Yıldırmış concludes. The campus is also working to create a virtuous ecosystem with major companies and tech firms in Türkiye to guarantee more opportunities for students in the coming years!

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42 The Network
42 The Network

Written by 42 The Network

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