Ilann Adjedj, Head of Pedago at 42 Marseille: “At 42, you are part of a community that always pushes you to give 100% and more!”

Behind every 42 campus is a team driving the pedagogy, the culture, and the spirit that make the model work. At 42 Marseille, the Pedagogical Lead is a 42 Paris Alumni whose journey spans music, sound engineering, entrepreneurship, electronics, and education. Ilann Adjedj did his Piscine in Paris back in 2014 and since then, his path has reflected what 42 does best: empowering people to learn how to learn, cross disciplines, and build their own way forward. Today, he brings that experience full circle, helping shape a brand-new campus and its first cohorts in one of France’s most dynamic cities.

Can you please talk to us about your background? What is your education and what were you doing before 42?

I’ve got a bachelor’s degree in Music and Sound Engineering, and then I did my Piscine at 42 Paris, back in September 2014!

During my time at 42 Paris, I got the opportunity to be part of the HEC Startup Launchpad with a startup project I had back then. I was developing connected plush toys to give toddlers a nicer way to interact with digital. It was an amazing experience, where I was fortunate to be coached by teachers and professionals affiliated with France’s most renowned Business School.
While developing this project, I learned electronics engineering, digital fabrication (3D printing, laser cutting, sewing machines !) and design thinking (mostly on my own, which was easier after having learnt how to learn at 42) which led me to pursue my career as a fab manager and then as an electronics teacher.

I was able to put a bit of the 42 pedagogy (project based learning, learning by doing, etc.) into the courses I developed, both for small cohorts of creative technologists and in a MOOC on AI for over 1300 students per year.

What do you like about your position at your campus?

Being the Pedago Lead in a new campus is a thrilling experience. I saw the campus when it was still under construction and now I’m witnessing the first cohort moving through the new Common Core every day, participating in professional events, organizing events through student associations and even meeting with Emmanuel Macron, the French president himself!

There’s a lot to do, and there’s always something new to learn!

What’s your vision for the future of education?

While, of course, AI is having a huge impact on the way students learn, I do think that the fundamentals are still the same. The learning-by-doing methodology has already proven its worth. 42 teaches its learners to try and fail, but also to always question what they’re learning, develop their critical thinking and analytical skills, and above all, strengthen their sense of agency.

These are skills that will be critically important in a world where understanding both the impact of AI and its more harmful effects (such as fake news, deepfakes, and mass surveillance) is essential.

What is your management style, how do you make your team work together?

I feel that being the only 42 Alumni in the 42 Marseille Bocal means that I have to convey the 42 spirit here. That’s what I’m trying to do daily, I want the people I work with to be curious, open-minded and always eager to learn new things!

42 has 4 pillar values: openness, excellence, tech, and ethics. Which one is the most important to you and why?

I value excellence above the three others. I tell my students that passing a Piscine doesn’t only mean being accepted in a school, it’s also joining a global community that strives to share, learn and reach its full potential by working together to gain new knowledge and skills.

Peer-to-peer learning is actually very demanding, and at 42 you are part of a community that pushes you to always give 100% and more!

That’s what companies are looking for when they hire our students: people who are eager to stay up to date on state-of-the-art technologies, understand what they are doing, and do it well.

Last question, and this is a fun question so don’t be too serious about it: Why is your campus one of the best in the network?

Because that’s the only campus where if you need a break from C, you can go to the sea.

And because I have to say it somewhere in this interview : “Allez l’OM !”