42 Quebec, a campus at the heart of a digital community
Discover how 42 Quebec has become a key player in energizing Quebec City’s digital community.
The convenience of a big city with the charm of a tight-knit village community: Quebec City, Canada, offers an ideal setting for studying. It provides opportunities for fun and tourism as well as for work and career. In the digital industry, it stands out with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and video game studios of all sizes, from the largest to the smallest independent company.
42 Québec originates from Québec Numérique, a non-profit organization that aims to gather the city’s digital community to bring it to life and animate it. In 2015, a new challenge arose: how to deal with the developer shortage.
“We started looking outside the traditional education system for solutions. We wanted to find new solutions to address this issue. During a trip to France, we had the opportunity to visit the 42 campus in Paris. The whole team fell in love with it. We saw what the training could bring, how it worked, we met students there. From that moment on, it was definite: there will be a 42 campus in Québec City.”
Dominic Goulet, CEO of Québec Numérique
The project developed thanks to Québec Numérique’s partners: the government of Québec, the city of Québec, as well as private partners. The campus opened in 2020 after convincing the partners of the relevance of 42’s dedicated model as well as that of the first francophone campus in North America.
42 Québec is a campus capable of accommodating 600 students, with Piscines held twice a year. Located in the same place as Québec Numérique, it allows students to get directly involved in the community by meeting major players and participating in events, which gives them visibility on the objectives and opportunities upon graduation.
What also makes 42 Québec so unique is its unofficial mascot: the rubber duck. He spreads the principle of “Duck Programming” on campus with him.
“When you don’t understand something you’re doing in your code, explaining it to a rubber duck on your desk can help you move forward. You have to go through each step one by one, explaining the lines of code, until you find the problem. His advantage is that he is always available to listen! Rumour has it that there are 42 hidden ducks in the Google Street Maps virtual tour of 42 Québec.”
Dominic Goulet, CEO of Québec Numérique
Today, with 42 Québec, Québec Numérique wishes to reinforce the attractiveness of the region, as much for the student’ community as for the industry. The goals are to give the opportunity to live in Québec city through studying at 42, to offer quality jobs, and to provide initiatives to develop creativity and entrepreneurship.
“42 Québec is the best — and only! — french-speaking 42 Campus in North America! Our students are really lucky to be able to take an active part in the life of the Québec City’ digital community while studying at 42. We also have the best movies, the best humor, and the best festivals!”
Dominic Goulet, CEO of Québec Numérique
