Belgian boy genius Laurent Simons, 9, drops out of university
- Father, who wanted him to graduate before his 10th birthday, blames school for delaying end date for son’s electrical engineering degree
- Original timetable meant Laurent would have become world’s youngest graduate by completing three-year course in 10 months
A nine-year-old Belgian boy who was on track to become the world’s youngest university graduate has terminated his studies at the Dutch university of Eindhoven following a dispute over his possible graduation date.
Laurent Simons made headlines around the globe last month, as he looked set to complete a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology before the end of the year – which would have made him the world’s first-ever graduate under the age of 10.
But on Monday, the university told Laurent and his parents that plan no longer looked feasible, considering the number of exams he still needed to finish before his birthday on December 26.
“Laurent is an exceptionally gifted boy, who is going through his studies at an unprecedented pace”, the university said in a statement.
As the original plan looked unachievable, the university said it had offered “a still phenomenally quick scheme in which he would end his education mid-2020”.