Campus 19 opens its doors in Antwerp

Campus 19 is building on its successful international expansion and will open its doors in Antwerp this autumn. The campus, which uses an innovative, autonomous method to teach students computer programming, aims to help counter the growing shortage of IT workers in Flanders.

Across Flanders, companies are looking for suitable IT staff, but the labour market is tight.
The number of vacancies continues to rise every year, and various IT jobs are now on the
list of hard to fulfil vacancies. Not just software companies and ICT companies are looking
for talented people - demand is also high in other sectors.

Campus 19 will come to Antwerp this autumn in order to give interested parties the
opportunity to train as IT professionals and to offer them a successful future in the corporate
world. At the end of March, there were 420 vacancies in the ICT sector in Antwerp alone.

Unique learning method

Campus 19 is a successful international concept that in the course of nine years has grown
to 35 campuses around the world under the umbrella name Ecole 42. The originally French
IT campus has had a branch in Brussels called '19 since 2018, where 350 students are
trained every year.

The learning method is unique and the same all over the world: the students learn
programming interactively without being taught by professors. On the campus, students can
access the training programme online and learn the basic skills at their own pace. Each
campus is open 24/7, allowing each student to work out a personalised learning schedule.
Participants in the programme help each other with exercises and lessons, which ensures
the necessary support and efficient transfer of knowledge.

Easy access
The course is free of charge and anyone over the age of 18 can apply without any prior
knowledge. The campus is aimed at both school leavers and adults who want to retrain in a
different skill set. Of course, candidates have to prove themselves and their motivation
during an admission period.

Once students have mastered the basic skills they can specialise further in areas such as artificial intelligence, cy bersecurity and e-gaming. Depending on the level students wish to achieve, the course takes between two and five years.

Anyone who wants to apply for Campus 19 can register on campus19.be as of today. The
Campus in Antwerp will have 150 places and aims to train 350 students over the next three
years.

John Bogaerts and Ian Gallienne, co-founders of '19: ‘Four years ago, when we set up '19, the 42 network's first campus outside France, our ambition was to train a diverse group
of young people and offer them quality jobs. on a campus funded by businesses. The new developments in Antwerp confirm the successful course we have taken."

Strong partnership with Antwerp players
In order to attract even more Dutch-speaking students, Campus 19 is now also opening a
branch in Antwerp. For this, it can count on the support of some large companies located in
the province of Antwerp. In alphabetical order, Duvel Moortgat, DPG Media, Hubo,
Johnson&Johnson, Lifeworld and Port of Antwerp-Bruges support the new initiative.
Digipolis, the IT partner of the city of Antwerp, is also structurally committed to the project.

Thanks to their financial support, hundreds of candidates can apply to start a training
programme. Campus 19 will be housed in the DPG Media headquarters, located at Antwerp
Central Station.

Christian Van Thillo, Executive Chairman DPG Media: ‘I know of few other projects that
offer young people such a great opportunity to build a successful career. It is a social,
inclusive and multicultural project for young people who can become role models for others. I am very pleased that DPG Media is supporting this unique project that offers great future
prospects to hundreds of young people from our region. I would like to express my particular
gratitude to all Antwerp partners who, together with us, are the driving force behind Campus
19.’