“He left the army not knowing where to start. Today, he’s head of artificial intelligence at a global brand.”

Antoine joined the army after school. Twelve years in a classroom had been enough. “I was that person, you know. I joined the army for that reason.”

When he decided he wanted more, he didn’t know where to start. “I knew what I wanted, but I just needed the person to push me.”

He went to ICE Campus on a Saturday, and the team laid out a path for him. Start with this course. Once you finish it, move on to the next. The plan included Python, front-end and back-end development.

“That was how I started into artificial intelligence. Learning Python, and learning how to do algorithms.”

He credits the admissions team with keeping him on track, so he followed the right order and didn’t skip anything that would set him up to fail. “If it wasn’t for the admissions team that guided me and made sure that I follow the right path.”

The first lesson is the one he talks about most. He arrived tired from work, with low expectations. Then his lecturer, Keith, started teaching.

“I remember the passion he had for the course he was teaching, that I was blown away. I was tired before the lesson started, and then I got like a rush through my body, and I was like, oh my God, I want to be this guy.”

The support kept him going after that. “You have so much support at ICE. They will make sure you pass. It’s only if you give up that you won’t pass.”

For anyone who left school, like he did, because they’d had enough, he says this is different. “It’s not strict. It’s fun, it’s passion. You see the excitement.” The lessons are hands-on, so you’re not stuck staring at a screen for three hours.

His career moved fast. After the army, he started as a customer service agent and was promoted within six months. Eight months later, he was promoted again. He went on to work at what he describes as the biggest iGaming company in the world, and he’s now at a company that is the biggest in events, where he runs artificial intelligence.

Today, Antoine is head of artificial intelligence at a global brand.

“I didn’t know where to start. Within a year and a half, I can safely say that I’m living my dream.”