Meet our students:
Eng Chuan, 34, 42 Kuala Lumpur

42 The Network
3 min readJan 13, 2023

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Eng Chuan is a 34-year-old student at 42 Kuala Lumpur, where he has been enrolled for about two years. Born deaf, Eng Chuan has developed a strong ability to learn and grow throughout his life, making lifelong learning one of his best qualities.

Hi Eng Chuan! What were you doing before joining 42?

I went through 10 different roles, such as association committee member, consultant, trainer, and driver among others. These were mostly part-time or short-term positions. The only full-time job I ever had was as a graphic designer for about 3 years, but I quit because it wasn’t my calling. I was on a long learning journey to find my true calling until I discovered computer science and programming. These were new words to me several years ago, and now I am at 42 Kuala Lumpur!

What was your reaction when you were accepted at the Piscine?

I never focused on passing or failing the online tests; I was just focused on trying to solve a fun challenge. I was shocked to find out that I had been accepted at the Piscine! I was both anxious and joyful: I had no programming experience, but I decided to do everything I could to pass the Piscine. I wanted to learn how to code with other people because I had no idea how to start by myself. I had the feeling that 42’s 100% coding method would help me achieve this goal.

How was your Piscine?

I had to spend a lot of time studying everyday and evaluating the other Piscine participants. Nonetheless, I was surprised to see that other candidates were patient and kind with me, despite the communication barrier between us. We had to type everything on keyboards to be faster. This added another layer of stress during the weekly “rush” evaluations, which are time-limited.

What do you like the most about the 42 method?

Overall, 42’s pedagogy is more fun compared to traditional systems! The projects allow me to explore real-world applications of the concepts I’m learning and help me decide on a long-term programming path. The pedagogy at 42 is great because it allows me to receive feedback from my peers, who can often spot mistakes or areas for improvement that I might have missed. It’s also been helpful for me to learn how to teach and share with others, as I need to make sure that I’m not misleading anyone. Lastly, exams really help me reflect on my learning method. I failed one of them and it prompted me to review my approach to learning. For me, failing something is the most effective way to improve.

Do you feel like you have already learned a lot of things?

I do, even though I wasn’t aware of how much I had learnt until lately. During the first half of the 42 Common Core, the first part of the training, I started to understand the logic behind programming, and I acquired real programming skills as a novice programmer. Last December, I attempted Codingame’s certification for C and passed with honors. The next day, I took the C++ one… and again passed with honors! I am truly and deeply grateful to 42 Kuala Lumpur for giving me a chance and thankful to 42.

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