Meet 42 Berlin

We are a non-profit coding school offering software engineering education completely tuition free. By making tech education more accessible and inclusive, we empower the next generation of coders.

Founded in 2021 and based in central Neukölln, we train our students up to the equivalent of Master’s level and implement peer-learning methodologies that give autonomy to each student.

42 Berlin Team

Our Values

42 Berlin Staff

Meet the people who make 42 Berlin possible

Stephanie Levy

CEO of the 42 Wolfsburg and 42 Berlin Schools

Stephanie is the CEO of the 42 Wolfsburg and 42 Berlin Schools. She is dedicated to providing international students with access to top level tech education and professional development opportunities while increasing diversity in the tech industry. Her professional experience includes expanding business development as the General Manager DACH at Inspera AS, and developing new virtual internship programs as the Senior Director of Operations, Global Internships at CIEE, the Council on International Educational Exchange.

Stephanie’s focus is on intercultural collaboration, innovation, sustainability, and the future of work. Her goal is to support the 42 Wolfsburg and 42 Berlin teams and students, and facilitate the growth of the 42 partnerships and network.

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Alexandros Lappas

Alexandros Lappas

Pedago Intern

Previously working as a Second Navigational Officer in the Merchant Fleet, Alex’s journey into the world of programming began at 42 Wolfsburg.

Passionate about technology, Alex always aspired to become more involved in the field. By a twist of fate, he joined 42, unaware of how significantly this decision would shape his future.

As a member of 42 Berlin and a former student of 42, Alex is well-acquainted with the challenges faced by those studying at 42 and is always eager to assist those in need.

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Amandine Armand

Junior Marketing Manager

Amandine supports the 42 marketing team with the mission of developing the presence of 42 Berlin and Wolfsburg on social media, with a focus on the TikTok platform. Behind the camera of her baby blue iPhone, her main goal is to record and share online the journey of the 42 students and the Pisciners.

She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing in France. She completed a work-study program, which led her to work with various types of companies: audiovisual, art, and cultural events. Her curiosity, thirst for knowledge, and ability to adapt to different environments have brought her to the doors of 42 Berlin.

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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.

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 optimized 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 program to take students to the limits of their academic capabilities and desires, and prepare them for the world of tomorrow.
 

Jonas Hagedorn

Educational Strategy Lead

Jonas is the Education Strategy Lead for 42 Wolfsburg/Berlin and oversees the educational offerings for our students. This begins with curriculum enhancements from our partners and the offerings in our sponsorship deals. He is expanding our Fellowship program with over 150 experts from industry and academia, enabling our students to transition seamlessly into the job market and excel in their careers. After finishing high school, Jonas moved to Thailand to play online poker for a living; however, his mind became fascinated by stochastics and statistics, leading him to study mathematics.

Jonas worked as a Data Science Consultant for 3 years at Deloitte before studying at 42 himself. He fully integrates himself into the student community and is ready to solve any queries students may have.

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Josef Sühr

Partnerships Lead

Leading our Partnerships at 42 Wolfsburg & 42 Berlin, Josef forges strategic alliances with the tech ecosystem. His mission at 42 is to leverage partnerships to create value for our students, to ensure the sustainable financial development of our schools and to spread our mission far and wide in the public arena.

Want to work with 42? Get in touch with Josef!

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Julia

Julia Widdig

Employer Relations & Careers Manager

Originally from Boston, USA, Julia has made Berlin her home since 2013. She brings experience in educational administration, international education, experiential learning, and international internships to 42 Berlin & Wolfsburg.

As the Employer Relations & Careers Manager at 42 Berlin & 42 Wolfsburg, her ultimate focus is creating meaningful connections between students and industry, equipping students with the skills needed to be job-ready, and enabling their transition into the tech workforce.

Although she hasn’t participated in a piscine (yet… 🙃), Julia strongly believes in 42’s pedagogical model and is committed to ensuring that companies benefit from the talented students who complete the 42 program.

Interested in learning more about collaboration opportunities? Don’t hesitate to connect!

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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.

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Lola Le

Lola Le

Junior Tech Manager

Before moving to Berlin in 2022, Lola worked as a graphic designer and had her own screen printing lab in Moscow. In the past, she studied industrial design and performed in contemporary dance shows in a small city located between Europe and Asia.

In 2023, Lola tackled the ‘Piscine’ and became a student at 42 Berlin. After one year of study, she began working as a tech intern and progressed to the role of Jr. Tech Manager.

Lola is always eager to try new things and gain different experiences. She believes that working hard and being kind to others are essential for a happy life.

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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. 

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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.

Maxime Siffert

Education Assistant

Maxime’s journey to 42 Berlin has been driven by a passion for education and a desire to transform traditional learning paradigms. Armed with a Bachelor’s degree in Literature, he found his love for teaching as a French language instructor for foreigners. However, he soon realized that conventional classrooms didn’t align with his vision of effective education. After exploring diverse opportunities, Maxime stumbled upon 42 Berlin. Recognizing its innovative approach, he joined as a student and later became an Education Assistant.

Maxime’s mission at 42 Berlin is simple: empower students to excel. He focuses on time management, stress reduction, procrastination, and productivity to help them navigate their educational journey effectively. Together, we’re shaping the future of education, one step at a time.

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Pedro

Pedro Ruiz

Tech Lead

Pedro started with the 42 team as a tech intern and has grown into the role of tech lead, now guiding all our tech interns. 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!

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Rodrigo

Rodrigo Estrela

Tech Intern

Not a long time ago, in a country not that far away, Rodrigo watched the tv show “Falling Skies” and in the show there were some alien robots. He thought to himself “those look cool, I would like to make some”. His passion for programming, robotics and AI begins.

Fast forward a few years, Rodrigo joins 42 Lisboa and learns a lot! After finishing the Common Core he explored some projects on 42 Advanced on the AI branch (remember the cool robots).
In the meantime one of his dreams for a long time has been moving to Berlin. Some months after his kick-off back in Lisbon, 42 Berlin was announced so he knew he would some day join it.
Now Rodrigo has indeed join us as a Tech Intern in August ’24!

Feel free to talk to him about the cool robots as well as a bunch of nerd stuff like World of Warcraft, Star Wars and whatever you feel falls under “nerd stuff”!

Vanessa

Vanessa Hernández Zambrano

Strategic Initiatives and Diversity Manager

Vanessa is the Strategic Initiatives and Diversity Manager at both 42 Berlin and 42 Wolfsburg. Since joining 42 in October 2022, she has focused on enhancing the unique 42 learning experience by developing our DEI strategy. In her role, she also supports our CEO, COOs, and team leads, ensuring alignment through OKRs and KPIs.

A multidisciplinary professional, Vanessa brings a holistic approach to international relations and business, driven by a passion for meaningful work. She earned her master’s degree in Public Policy from the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at Uni Erfurt in 2022. Her diverse experience spans international institutions, NGOs, and the public sector in Ecuador, France, and Germany. Vanessa’s expertise lies in international affairs, development, and governance, and she is a dedicated advocate for women’s empowerment, human rights, and environmental rights.

Feel free to strike up a conversation with Vanessa if you see her around, especially about geeky stuff, music, and going to the gym, which she loves!

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Viola

Viola Sommer

Chief Operating Officer

As Chief Operating Officer, Viola is in charge of running the school: the campus, financials, people, legal… and the list goes on!

Viola is a psychologist by training and started a successful tech company in London, employing gifted 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 and fell in love with 42. Viola’s passion lies in making tech more diverse and building a learning environment that is at the forefront of innovation and inclusion in Germany.

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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 featured below.

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