Codam Coding College: Welcome to Amsterdam!
If there’s one thing Amsterdam is worldly famous, it’s for its bikes everywhere. However, since 2018, it’s changing: with Codam Coding College, the city also houses the only peer-to-peer coding institution in the Netherlands.
It was Corinne Vigreux’s dream to import 42 in the Netherlands. She has co-founded TomTom and always been interested in education in the Netherlands but also in France and the UK. She was closely following the development of the first campus 42 in Paris, until 2017 when her dream started to become reality.
Construction works began in march 2018. A former military base, not fit for studying, was repurposed in the heart of Amsterdam. Everything was teared down to build a beautiful building with lots of natural light.
“The building itself was designed to make everyone feel welcomed for all and fit the needs of candidates and students. It was designed to be one third cluster rooms with computers, one third technical and administrative rooms, and one third chilling and relaxing areas.”
David Giron, Director of Codam Coding College
Among the facilities, Codam Coding College provides a library, a gaming room, ping-pong tables… and a huge grass field just in front of the campus. The global design ensures candidates and students will have the best experience possible in order to learn, having fun, be safe and feel included.
In april 2018, the first 240 candidates for Codam Coding College’s piscines were recruited, and the selected students fully joined the facility in 2019. Thanks to the hard work of the team at Codam Coding College and some smart communication, the first students were able to find internships the next year. With word of mouth, and companies coming back for more, the campus provides now many job opportunities for everyone.
One of the key points of the rapid integration into the local economy is CodamX Series, inspired by the TedX Series. Every couple of weeks, the campus invites professionals in the IT department to explain their job, their position in a company, and give the student a taste at what they will expect after graduation. The show is quite popular!
“To me, Codam is the best campus in the network of 42 partner campuses… because we have everything! We have the place, the building, the team, the knowledge, the fun, and we have the city of Amsterdam. If you want to study, come to Codam and if you want to party, also come to Codam!”
David Giron, CEO of Codam Coding College
