No small feat: 18 graduate from first cohort of 42 Singapore, SUTD's tuition-free coding school

Straits Times

08-06-2025

Ms Gan Siow Huang, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and Trade and Industry, with SUTD president Phoon Kok Kwang and graduates from the pioneering batch of 42 Singapore. PHOTO: SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN
No small feat: 18 graduate from first cohort of 42 Singapore, SUTD's tuition-free coding school
SINGAPORE - Completing coding school at 42 Singapore (42 SG) is proving to be a serious challenge.
Out of the 190 students in the first cohort who joined the tuition-free programme at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), 18 have graduated and 100 have quit.
The rest are still enrolled in the programme, which is modelled after the renowned Ecole 42 in France, a pioneering coding school that was founded in 2013.
42 SG offers modules in the fields of coding, computer programming, cyber security and more. There are neither teachers nor structured lessons, and no academic prerequisites are needed to enrol.
Costing nothing and open to anyone aged 18 and above, the programme relies on peer learning and offers full hands-on, project-based learning in a gamified environment.
Mr Koh Chye Soon, head of 42 SG, told The Straits Times that the high attrition rate is not unexpected.
Students leave for various reasons, including job offers secured through networks formed during their time at 42 SG, caregiving duties and family responsibilities, he said.
42 SG students are completely responsible for their own learning, he said, as opposed to having teachers supplying materials and providing guidance.
'Without teachers, there's actually more work to do,' he said. 'It is not a small feat to complete 42 SG.'
The 18 graduates completed the common core curriculum, which translates to the first nine levels out of a total of 21. This is the equivalent of a diploma certification.
SUTD said those who complete level 9 would have acquired skills for positions such as a junior-level software engineer or network engineer.
A level 17 certificate is equivalent to a bachelor's degree, and level 21 is equivalent to a master's degree.
One of the 18 graduates from the first cohort is Mr Jeremy Choo, 25. He finished the core curriculum of the 42 SG programme in September 2024.
He had previously enrolled in a traditional computer-science degree programme at a private university, but left the course nearly six months in, to focus on his 42 SG projects.
Mr Jeremy Choo, valedictorian of the inaugural 42 SG cohort, finished the core curriculum of the 42 SG programme in September 2024.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN
He spent a year on the SUTD campus, for almost 12 hours a day on both weekdays and weekends.
'I genuinely enjoyed being there, so I was there all the time,' he said, adding that apart from coding, he was also learning with his peers and socialising.
Through 42 SG, he landed a tech internship at transport giant ComfortDelGro from September 2024 to February 2025.
He then applied for a traineeship under Google's Skills Ignition SG programme – a joint training programme run by Google and the Singapore Government – which he secured by listing his 42 SG credentials, among others.
The technical skills he gained have come in handy for his year-long traineeship, which ends in April 2026, said Mr Choo.
Calling the 42 SG programme unconventional, he said: 'There's such a diversity of people. Like those who had no experience at all, like me. Then there're also others, like software developers in other companies already, who just want to come here to challenge themselves or learn more.
'Instead of being fed notes and listening to tutorials, I felt like it was a more practical approach that suited my learning style.'
Though learning without a teacher and relying on teamwork was challenging at first, Mr Choo said he became more resourceful and engaged in his learning.
'I could get a lot more hands-on, and down and dirty with whatever projects I was doing… You figure out how to solve your problems and eventually become more efficient and faster at solving whatever problem comes along,' he added.
Mr Choo graduated as valedictorian among his coursemates at a ceremony held at SUTD on May 5.
An SUTD spokeswoman said 13 of the 18 graduates have secured jobs or taken up tech roles.
SUTD said that, on average, it takes about 18 months to complete the core curriculum if students are in the programme on a full-time basis.
Many 42 SG students are juggling the programme and work commitments, she added. Students are not required to complete all nine levels, and can leave any time.
Those who wish to rejoin the programme will have to retake the Piscine (French for swimming pool), the second stage in the selection process which tests applicants' determination and desire. Over 26 days, they do basic coding and learn with other 'Pisciners' by completing projects.
Since the start of 42 SG in 2023, more than 6,900 applicants have applied across three intakes. Of these, close to 750 passed the first test – a two-hour memory and logic test that does not require any coding knowledge – and have undergone the Piscine.
Apart from the first cohort, which had a bumper crop of 190, the student intake sizes in 2024 and 2025 ranged from 100 to 120, said SUTD.
A student from 42 SG's second intake, who spoke on condition of anonymity, left the programme in March 2025 after completing just three levels. She had started the 42 SG programme in May 2024.
After finding a new job as a software developer at a start-up in October 2024, she took a pause from 42 SG to settle down at work. She decided to leave the coding programme so that she could focus on work.
The 42 SG curriculum is 'very intensive', she told The Straits Times, as it can take 70 hours to complete some projects.
'I don't have that intensity or energy resources to juggle too many things at one time. So that's why I decided to focus on performing better in my role as a developer at the start-up,' she said.
Still, she sees value in the 42 SG experience and hopes to continue when she is more settled at work, though the thought of having to redo the Piscine and start from scratch at the first level is daunting.
'This is not for the faint-hearted… The curriculum is really meant to break you, but it will make you stronger as well,' she said.
Elisha Tushara is a correspondent at The Straits Times, specialising in Singapore's education landscape.
Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.