Marc Verstaen

10 Years of Holberton A decade ago, we launched @holbertonschool with a crazy idea: What if we could train world-class software engineers, without teachers, without lectures, and without upfront tuition? We believed education was broken. Too expensive, too theoretical, too out of touch. So I left @Docker, and we built something radically different: - Project-based. - Peer-driven. - Modeled after how engineers actually work. And it worked. We started in San Francisco with one small cohort and a big dream. Soon, we were training students who had never written a line of code, and watching them get hired at Apple, Tesla, Google, and beyond. This was never a school for the privileged. It was built for the misfits, the underdogs, the ones no one expected to become engineers… until they did. Then it grew. We expanded to Latin America, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. From Bogotá to Beirut, Tunis to Toulouse. From one crazy dream to a global impact. Thousands of students trained. Many lives changed. Many ceilings shattered. Along the way, we were backed by believers: Jeff Weiner, Jerry Yang, @solomonstre , @NeYoCompound, @priyankachopra, and so many others who saw what this could be. We were also blessed with incredible investors and advisors who not only supported our vision, but stood by us through the hard times, through COVID, through the crazy battle with California’s BPPE, and through every challenge that comes with trying to disrupt an old system. We couldn’t have done it without them. In 2022, Holberton evolved. The brand and franchise were acquired in France by our former COO, @42Krp, who has done an incredible job expanding the Holberton School Network into even more countries. @cyrjulien, another key early team member, now leads Holberton franchises. Under his leadership, France has become the country with the most Holberton Schools in the world with 12 campuses! Meanwhile, the platform and technology were acquired by @alx_africa , and this is where something magical happened. @FredSwaniker gave me the opportunity to continue with my vision, but much bigger and much faster than I ever thought possible. With the support of the @MastercardFdn, we went from “no upfront tuition” to completely free. Education became not just accessible, but radically inclusive. And we scaled like never before in Africa. Today, inside ALX, the Holberton’s engine powers one of the most ambitious software engineering programs in the world and since we joined forces, we served 1.29 million learners with programs constantly evolving, continuously updated, always learner-first. We don’t sit still. We keep shipping. We update our curriculum relentlessly, because the industry moves fast, and our students deserve to move faster. Almost every single week, I receive private messages from students who have found jobs - most of the time, their first job - and they want to say thank you. They tell me how #ALX_SE changed their life. How they now support their families. How they finally feel like they belong. This is what keeps me going. I may just have the best job in the world. And the ripple effect keeps growing. My wife, @Sophie_RB42 (my “co-founder in the shadow” who ran Holberton ops from the trenches) is now building Octoprep.ai with @_MariemEhab, an #ALX_SE grad, to support the global community of job-seekers, helping them get prepared for interviews, fast-tracking their journey to a job. So many alumni are stepping up in powerful ways. @nuux_tv, @DohouDaniel10 and others are mentoring and building new learning communities. @YoussefCharifH2 and @AbduuHany launched RemoteOtter.com to help students find remote jobs globally. Hundreds of alumni are giving back one way or another. This is what legacy looks like. It almost sounds like we have made it. Don't be so sure. 10 years later, the world has changed dramatically. “AI is coming for your job!”. We hear it all the time. And it’s true, to an extent (Though today, it’s more like: someone who is using AI is coming for your job.) AI is rewriting the rules. Everything is shifting. We all have to adapt and learn to work with AI. So here we are again, 10 years later. Once more, we need to rethink education. For everyone. And that’s exactly what we’re doing at ALX. I know Florian, and the network of incredible Holberton partners are also working actively on this. The next 10 years are going to be wild. We’re building the foundation for another new kind of world, that needs a new kind of education that embraces the Future. We need something radically different: - Project-based. - Peer-driven - with some peers being AI-powered. - Modeled after how engineers actually work. Sounds familiar? Let’s do it again. [And now… time for pictures!] 👇🧵