Well, this certainly makes our achievements look less impressive.
Laurent Simons, a nine-year-old boy from Belgium, is set to become the world’s youngest university graduate. Currently a student at the Eindhoven University of Technology, the literal child is studying electrical engineering and will soon receive his Bachelor’s degree.
Having already finished secondary school in one year, it took him nine months to finish what is typically a three year course at the Dutch university.
In an interview with Reuters, Simons said that his dream for the future is to make artificial organs. Of his final college project, he said: “What we are doing is placing neurons and making connections to see what the reaction is to medication in a part of the brain.”
Normal kid stuff.
Sjoerd Hulshof, the programme director for young Laurent’s course, has said that he is three times smarter than the next smartest student he has taught. Which just has to feel absolutely brilliant if you are one of Laurent’s grown-up classmates.
Laurent’s father has said his son is interested in studying medicine now that he’s gotten his Bachelor’s degree out of the way (by age NINE, in case we didn’t mention that). However, he thinks his son is more of an “inventor” than a healer, and that his hero is Nikola Tesla.
At present, the world record for youngest university graduate is held by Michael Kearney, who earned a degree from the University of South Alabama at the age of 10 in 1994.
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