42 Vienna

Vienna is home to some of the Earth’s most beautiful architecture and one of the oldest educational university ecosystems in Europe. However, Austria is rapidly lagging behind due to a lack of recent innovations in higher IT education, the consequence of which is a growing shortage of over 24,000 IT specialists. In addition to a deficit of trained people, the IT sector also lacks intersectional diversity. To answer this call, a public-private consortium including sixteen forward-thinking industrial and commercial businesses have pooled their resources to launch Austria’s first 42 Campus. This consortium includes a diverse sample of companies, from one of the biggest banks in Austria to the City of Vienna itself. As the Vienna location continues to prove successful, further locations are planned to open around the country soon. 42 Vienna opened its doors in October 2022, with 134 students from 35 countries, ranging from 18 to 52 years of age. The background of the applicants and students at 42 Vienna is as diverse as the city’s coffee culture – from traditional to contemporary: from a ballet dancer and car mechanic to a policeman and cancer researcher. Some dropped out of school, others change their careers to join 42. Now they can all focus on something they love. From the universal language English of today to the new universal language of tomorrow: the language of code.