Silicon Valley is short on software engineers. So French-born Julien Barbier, Sylvain Kalache and Rudy Rigot left their jobs at Docker, LinkedIn and Apple to found a new computer science school. Their pet project takes its name from Betty Holberton, the American programmer who helped create the first programmable computer, the ENIAC.
As of September 2015, the founders had raised $2 million from funders including former Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang. The first class of 32 students will start in January 2016.
Roughly 1,000 people have applied. The promise of free tuition for the first class is partly responsible for this frenzy. Students are selected based on online tests, projects and interviews but above all, motivation. No computer science knowledge is required.
Class-free School
Holberton differs from the traditional four-year, research-based university programs. It lasts two years with a six-month internship. Hands-on learning is its method, training students for real-world jobs is its goal.
The founders believe in peer learning and real-life exercises. Kalache explains, "Each student will be responsible for his or her site. If it crashes in the middle of the night, the student has to fix it."
Best of Both Worlds
Holberton distinguishes itself from the developer bootcamps that have flourished in the U.S. recently. The aim is to train full-stack engineers who are equally comfortable with programming, systems, networks, databases, security, databases, marketing and project management.
The founders want to draw on the best of both countries where they learned their craft. For Kalache, "French engineers are strong critical thinkers and are often more consistent, thorough and precise whereas American engineers are better at seeing the big picture."
Holberton is ambitious. Kalache says, "We want to grow fast and open schools in other cities as early as next year." Their business model requires that in exchange for free tuition, students pay a cut of their future salary for the first few years after graduation. Yet another original idea from the valley of innovation.
