42 Beirut: Showing Resilience Like No Other!

Located in the heart of the Beirut Digital District, a one-minute walk away from the historic Downtown Beirut and five minutes from the city’s famous waterfront, 42 Beirut opened in early 2024. In a country that has faced several crises over the years, 42 Beirut seeks to empower the Lebanese youth and address the country’s brain-drain issue by offering new opportunities and proof of skills.

42 Beirut was launched thanks to the unwavering support of CMA CGM, a French leader in shipping and logistics. The project was led at the initiative of Mr Rodolphe Saadé, the chairman and CEO of CMA CGM, as part of his efforts to provide support and upskilling opportunities to the Lebanese youth, to meet the growing demand for skilled IT professionals, both locally and globally.

Thanks to its strategic location, 42 Beirut offers a well-balanced campus experience, seamlessly blending professional growth with personal wellbeing. “Students are able to benefit both from a vibrant ecosystem where they have access to networking and career opportunities, and from a pleasant neighborhood, where they can take coffee breaks and strolls” — Wissam Sammouri, Director of the 42 Beirut campus, tells us.

While the campus was off to a great start, disrupting the local education system and attracting a significant number of applicants to its first Piscines, 42 Beirut unfortunately endured the realities of war in the fall of 2024.. To face such an extraordinary situation, the campus came up with an impressive crisis plan. “Simply put, we prioritized action on two key fronts: student well being, safety and motivation on the one hand, and academic continuity on the other.” — Wissam Sammouri.

On the student care front, while the campus unfortunately had to close temporarily, 42 Beirut’s team reached out to all students from day one, continuously tracking their situations. Simultaneously, staff at the campus did their best to keep the community motivated, and encouraged students to continue working on their projects as much as possible.

On the academic continuity front, 42 Beirut’s team developed Marvin, a tool that enabled students to submit projects and evaluate each other online, under the supervision of the pedagogy team. “Thanks to Marvin, many students were able to advance in the curriculum.” Wissam Sammouri assesses. The tool was subsequently deactivated when the campus returned to normal operations.

Inside the 42 Beirut computer lab.

Looking forward, the campus is focusing on providing opportunities for its students. 42 Beirut has established employment tracks to facilitate connections between companies and students. The first two 42 Beirut students who completed the Common Core were notably hired by CMA CGM. “When it comes to opportunities for students, the sky is the limit, and the world will be their playground. There is a growing global demand for skilled tech talent in areas like web and mobile development, analytics, data science and engineering, cloud computing, cybersecurity, VR, and blockchain, all covered by our specialization tracks.” — Sammouri concludes.

Building on its momentum, 42 Beirut is set to empower the next generation of tech talent in Lebanon!