Who are we?

42 Berlin was founded in 2021 in the heart of Neukölln. As a free non-profit coding school, we have the sole mission to empower software engineers through active & autonomous education. 42 Berlin follows the framework found in École 42 in Paris, the 42 Network’s founding campus. With over 20,000 students and alumni of the 42 method, students of 42 Berlin will have access to a worldwide community of like-minded coders. 

By replacing teachers with peer-learning methodologies, each student of the 42 method is both a student and teacher of their learning world. Collaboration replaces competition and collective success and knowledge sharing permeate every part of campus life.

 Aside from code, community is at the centre of all that we do and, aside from our students, our beautiful team works hard to be the navigation system that keeps our spaceship on track. 

Meet The Team

 Aside from code, community is at the centre of all that we do and, aside from our students, our beautiful team works hard to be the navigation system that keeps our spaceship on track. 

Amadou Guede

Marketing Intern

Amadou is a 42 Berlin student and is completing an internship with the marketing team alongside his studies.
Before joining 42, Amadou graduated from a business engineering bachelor’s degree, however he felt the need to broaden his horizons. He decided to move to Berlin to study computer science, and learn a new language and culture along the way. Having always been interested in YouTube, he started his own channel and taught himself how to make videos. His focus today, is on content that is interesting, meaningful and helpful. Amadou uses his content creation skills in video production for the marketing team, as well as helping out with a range of other tasks.

Bogdan Tudor

Operations Assistant

Bogdan is a 42 Berlin student, while assisting the Operations team. After completing the Highschool of Arts, he graduated from the Faculty of Architecture in Timișoara (FAUT) in 2017 and completed a master’s degree in Urban Planning (UAT) at the same university in 2020. He worked as an intern for almost a year at Studio Bargone, a famous architecture firm in Rome, Italy. After returning to Romania, he worked in the faculty as an assistant in Architecture Planning and also in an architecture studio (D Proiect). In Berlin since 2012, Bogdan worked as an intern for Studio Burdakov, where he focused on various projects with architectural themes. Today, he still collaborates with the studio but as a freelancer.

Carina Estévez

Fab Lab Manager

Carina is one of our Fab Lab managers and students. She enjoys spending time exchanging ideas not only about code but about life hacks, arts, synthesizers and almost anything else! Carina loves spending time in the FabLab; from helping set up to guiding people and learning about their projects. Before joining 42, Carina worked as a nurse in diverse environments including; residences for elderly people, outpatient care services, different wards of the hospital … until ending up working at the intensive care, which had always been her goal. Once the pandemic began, Carina changed my mind and quit her job. A friend of hers sent her the link for the 42 application platform and the rest is history. 
 
Now at 42, Carina’s personal mission is to encourage people to try new things and work together for a more beautiful and funny world.

Daniel Hadley

Pedagogy Co-Lead

Dan co-leads our pedagogy to ensure that each student has the best education possible, and works hard to provide a cutting edge learning environment that is optimised for problem solving, team work, and play. Dan studied languages and linguistics in Dublin, before transitioning to software engineering at the 42 Paris campus in 2016. He used his skills to build his own company and got selected to be part of the Future 40 2021 at Station F. Being a 42 alumni himself, Dan uses his first-hand experience of the programme to take students to the limits of their academic capabilities and desires, and prepare them for the world of tomorrow.
 

Dr Denis Özdemir

Tech Lead

As our technology lead, Denis takes charge of IT, the FabLab, and leads 42 Berlin’s Digital Health and Cyber-Physical System (CPS) practice groups. He ensures that there is the cutting-edge technology needed to contribute to a great learning experience. Denis studied mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University and Carnegie Mellon University (U.S.A.) focusing on cybernetics and mathematical optimisation. He then completed a Ph.D. in mechatronic design at WZL Aachen. Before working with 42, Denis worked as an engineer and expert for the Internet of Things (IoT) at Boston Consulting Group Digital Ventures and served as Managing Director of the Cluster of Excellence on “Integrative Production Technology”, one of Germany’s major projects on “Industrie 4.0”. Denis’ personal mission is to create an environment where we feel motivated to change the universe for the good.

LinkedIn

Jonas Hagedorn

Pedagogy Co-Lead

Jonas is the other beating heart of our pedagogy team and works to create the best school for future software engineers. After finishing high school, Jonas moved to Thailand to play online poker for a living, however his mind became fascinated by stochastics and statistics and he went on to study mathematics. Jonas worked as a Data Science Consultant for 3 years at Deloitte, before studying at 42 Heilbronn to understand the fundamentals of software development. Jonas very much integrates himself into the student community and is ready to solve any queries students may have.

LinkedIn

Josef Sühr

Partnership Manager

Josef works as a bridge builder, a cross-sector translator and a network organiser for both 42 Berlin and Wolfsburg. HIs main focus is unlocking the potential of our software and industry partnerships for the benefit of students & partners, including running our fellowship and internship programmes. In the past, Josef has worked with global tech companies, such as Microsoft and a number of non-profit organisations, to foster cross-sector dialogue and find meaningful solutions to address the lack of diversity in the tech industry, the shortage of IT professionals and outdated credential-driven hiring practices. At 42, Josef is excited to bring together stakeholders from business and education to continue this work.

LinkedIn

Karswaran Ganesh

Campus Life Manager

Kars is our Campus life Manager, working within the operations and pedagogy teams. He oversees the smooth running of the campus, as well as taking care of our community, planning events and getting everyone involved. Kars’s previous experience lies in gastronomy, managing the restaurant Mrs Robinson’s in Berlin, where he gained valuable experience in running a tight ship, and dealing with people from all walks of life. Kars’s personal mission at 42 Berlin is to provide a smiling face to anyone and everyone, and make each student feel like they are part of a genuine community.

LinkedIn

Magdalena Skorupska

Marketing Lead

Magda, Head of Marketing & PR at 42, makes sure the 42 word is spread as far as possible. She coordinates all of our marketing projects that put our school on potential students’ radars. Magda is a lawyer by education and a digital marketeer by experience of over 8 years. After working for Marketing Agencies in New Zealand and Poland focusing on Search Engine Marketing, she moved deeper into the Marketing-Tech world in Berlin where she’s been leading Digital Marketing teams and Strategy since 2015. Coming from a family of teachers, Magda has seen the injustices of the educational first hand; millions of people struggle to find well-paid jobs, whilst completely unaware of their potential. On top of this, there is an immense gap in the market and a need for well educated coders. Magda believes 42 builds a bridge for so many people to gracefully enter a job they love and use their skillset to create powerful tech. 

LinkedIn

Max the Dog

Chief Happiness Officer

Max is our Chief Happiness Officer. Orginally from Poland, Max moved to Berlin in 2019, hoping to spread his happiness to the people here. He joined the team with our campus life manager, Kars, and has been warming the hearts of all who walk the hallways of 42 Berlin. Max ensures that the community has a furry friend to cheer them up when they are down, and someone to play (and cuddle) with in between code.

Mia Jaccarini

Editorial & Communications Officer

Mia makes sure the 42 Berlin message is heard by those who need to hear it; using social media and other platforms of communication to share the school with the world and using exciting means to put sustainable coding in the spotlight. Mia studied English and Philosophy at university, before going on to teach English as a foreign language. Mia founded her own vintage company that highlighted the need for sustainability in all realms of life … including tech! Mia felt instantly at home in 42 Berlin where purpose and meaning is central to the ethos. Her personal mission in the team is to make sure 42’s message is understood and accessible to all those who will thrive here.

LinkedIn

Nathan Guiard

Tech Intern

Nathan joins 42 Berlin from Paris as a tech intern, his role being to create the tools to help students and staff in campus. Nathan is a code enthusiast, having joined 42 Paris just after high school to dive deep into learning software engineering. Nathan loves the philosophy of the 42 schools, and in Paris he spent much of his time helping other students on their projects as he was involved in a tutoring team. Landing in another 42 school to help more students to progress was a clear next step for him.

Pedro Ruiz

Developer & IT Specialist

Pedro has also joined the 42 team as a tech intern this year. Coming from Spain, Pedro has a background in Agriculture Engineering … so if you need help with plants, he’s your guy. After lots of contemplation during the pandemic, Pedro decided to join 42 Madrid and, after 1.5 years, he fell in love with the methodology and wanted to participate in offering an alternative to traditional education. Aside from Pedro’s on duty missions, he loves music (his band has reached over 1 million plays on Spotify!), is an avid chess player, and loves to make things … so you’ll probably spot him in the FabLab once it’s in action!

LinkedIn

Pritika Raj

Marketing Operations Assistant

Pritika is the marketing operations assistant in the 42 Berlin team, while also being a 42 Berlin student, currently working on her core curriculum. Pritika studied business administration with a major in finance at the university of Cologne and wanted to delve deeper into the tech side of things. Her personal mission is to learn how to problem-solve and help pioneer a new form of learning.

Vanessa Hernández Zambrano

Governance Officer

Vanessa works as the Governance Officer for both 42 Berlin and 42 Wolfsburg, as well as operating as the Assistant to Ralf, our CEO & headmaster. Vanessa is a multidisciplinary professional with a holistic approach to international relations and business, and with passion for meaningful work. She obtained her master’s degree in Public Policy at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy from the Uni Erfurt in 2022, and has developed her skills from previous experience in Ecuador, France and Germany at international institutions, NGOs and in the public sector. She has a particular interest in international affairs, development and governance, and is an active advocate for women’s empowerment, human and environmental rights. Having joined 42 Wolfsburg and Berlin in October 2022, she has her focus on contributing to the community and organisational structure with Ralf and the teams to support the unique 42 learning experience! Feel free give her a shout if you see her around, in particular about geeky stuff and music, which she is very fond of.

LinkedIn

Viola Sommer

Operations Lead

As operations lead, Viola takes control of all things to do with the daily running of the school: the campus, financials, HR, recruitment, networking, office management … and the list goes on! Viola is a psychologist specialized in neurodiversity, however she spent 14 years in London where she founded a successful tech company employing autistic people as coders. Her creation became the largest social enterprise in the UK and attracted investment by Richard Branson and the Porsche family. In 2020, she moved to Berlin with her family and fell in love with 42. Viola’s passion lies in making tech more diverse and wanting to build a campus with maximum flexibility to accommodate for different needs, alongside a community that is at the forefront of innovation and inclusion in Germany.

LinkedIn

The 42 Community

The 42 Campus

In the Press

42 Berlin has caught the eye of german and worldwide organisations and media outlets. Check out where we’ve been feature below.

Stay in the know

Follow us on Instagram for regular updates!

Stay in the know

Follow us on Instagram for regular updates!