SINGAPORE \u2013 Many people who start at\u00a0the tuition-free coding school at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) do not make it even halfway to the end. <\/p>\n
But Mr Brian Young, 36, and Mr Jeffrey Goh, 35, have become the first Singaporeans to reach the highest certification levels offered by 42 Singapore (42 SG), an unconventional free coding programme known for its rigour and high attrition rate. <\/p>\n
In October, Mr Young was awarded the RNCP Level 7 certificate, a French certification equivalent to a master\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n
Mr Goh completed 17 levels in July, earning the RNCP Level 6 certification \u2013 equivalent to a bachelor\u2019s degree. He is on track to complete all 21 levels by August 2026.<\/p>\n
Their achievements are no small feat as even finishing the first nine levels in the 42 SG programme has proven to be a challenge for many.<\/p>\n
Of the 320 students in the first two cohorts at SUTD, just 40 have graduated so far after completing nine levels. About <\/p>\n 100 from the first cohort have quit<\/p>\n <\/a>, The Straits Times reported on June 9.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Launched in September 2023<\/p>\n <\/a>, 42 SG is modelled after Ecole 42 in Paris, which offers a free coding programme for anyone above 18 years old.<\/p>\n It relies on peer learning and offers full hands-on, project-based learning in a gamified environment. There are neither teachers nor structured lessons, or academic prerequisites to enrol.<\/p>\n To be eligible, students have to clear a two-hour memory and logic test that does not require any coding knowledge, before moving on to a second test called \u201cThe Piscine\u201d (French for swimming pool). <\/p>\n For Mr Young, this journey began more than a decade ago. <\/p>\n He was the <\/p>\n first Singaporean to enrol at Ecole 42<\/p>\n <\/a> in Paris in 2014, after quitting a bachelor\u2019s degree programme in computer science at the National University of Singapore after just six months.<\/p>\n Despite failing 15 projects, he completed all 21 levels of the curriculum in four years \u2013 a feat achieved by fewer than 2 per cent of Ecole 42 students worldwide.<\/p>\n Mr Young returned to the 42 network through SUTD in 2024 to fulfil the requirements to obtain the RNCP Level 7 certification. <\/p>\n Earning this years later was less about collecting credentials than finishing what he started, he told ST.<\/p>\n To do this, he spent his weekends and some nights after work from May 2024 to August 2024 at the SUTD campus working on projects to fulfil the requirements for this certification.<\/p>\n Mr Brian Young was awarded the RNCP Level 7 certificate, equivalent to a master\u2019s degree, in October.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u201cIt was a way to close the chapter properly and honour the many people who helped me along the way. It\u2019s a personal milestone rather than a career move,\u201d said Mr Young.<\/p>\n A lifelong learner, he also obtained a Master of Science in cybersecurity management from the University of Warwick at the Singapore Institute of Management in 2023. <\/p>\n Though the RNCP Level 7 certification and his cybersecurity degree serve different purposes, they are complementary, he said. <\/p>\n While the 42 programme trained him to build systems from the ground up, his postgraduate studies sharpened his understanding of how such systems can be managed.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth the experiences strengthen each other and have shaped how I approach my work today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mr Young now works as a cybersecurity engineer at the Defence Science and Technology Agency.<\/p>\n Mr Goh\u2019s journey, though shorter than Mr Young\u2019s, was equally demanding. As part of the first intake of 190 students at 42 SG, he distinguished himself as a quick learner.<\/p>\n<\/picture><\/div>