> Just wondering, how do you vet the people that apply?
No vetting process, it was first come first served. As long as a student kept showing up, I will do everything I can to help. I don't advertise paying students, I offer it after I've seen them make some progress.
> I can imagine a lot of people would love to "earn" a free 2k a month and would happily play along doing the bare minimum amount of work required.
This actually happened to a few students. But in their defense, I would do the same. If I had been struggling month to month and suddenly I get a chance to breath and relax, I would relax.
I've been trying to condition myself to be okay giving money to people and not expecting anything in return (in the spirit of basic income). It is a hard path to take emotionally but I am making progress.
> I contemplated doing something similar in London (not paying money per-se, but providing a location & good hardware for the students to use) but was kind of worried about ending up with an office full of freeloaders that just enjoy the amenities provided without caring about the curriculum itself.
This will happen. People will find a way to build a community with regular parties and alcohol and weed and other drugs will come in. Some students will start binge watching TV shows, start gaming, etc. You need to make sure to set some fundamental rules.
The way I plan to solve this (next year) could be very controversial, but I believe it based on my experiences so far: No internet until you finish the curriculum, no alcohol, no drugs. Maybe also no meat but that's still up in the air.
> I've experimented with a few people I know that are stuck in bullshit jobs and gave them hardware, software and any books/resources they'd need to learn programming, but while they are very grateful for it I haven't actually seen any progress or frankly even long-term motivation.
That's how I started and the reason why there is no long-term motivation is that there is nobody around them to help them manage their feelings. Once you help them manage their feelings, their drive is infinite.
If you want to talk more, shoot me a message in the chatroom on c0d3.com (my username is gnos), I'll be happy to share everything (curriculum, apps that powers the curriculum, vision, etc).