The protagonist of this story is Laurent Simons, a Belgian boy of only 11 years of age who has just finished his university degree in Physics . The most incredible thing of all is not that he has managed to graduate from university when, due to his age, he would have to start high school, but that he has finished his Physics career, considered one of the most difficult, in just nine months instead of three years . He has already obtained his Bachelor of Physics at the University of Antwerp with an average grade of nine out of ten and in a single course.
The Belgian boy has finished his career in Physics with honors , obtaining a diploma with a “cum laude” in just one year, when this degree requires at least three years, as published by the Dutch agency ANP. Now Laurent Simons will continue studying at the same university for a master’s degree in Physics, and has already successfully completed several subjects of the same.
The Belgian boy started primary school when he was only four years old . At the age of six, he entered the equivalent of a Secondary Institute, the Sint-Jozef Humaniora in Bruges, and completed this stage in 18 months, when this is achieved in eight years. Thus, at the age of nine he entered the university.
Nobody knows how long it will take him to finish his master’s degree in Physics , but he himself assures that he is not doing it to break a record, far from it. He wants to achieve his goal: “to be able to replace as many parts of the human body as possible with manufactured organs .”
This is not the first time that Laurent Simons has made the news. It was already two years ago, when he was forced to abandon his studies in Electrical Engineering by a compromise between the TU Eidenhoven University and his parents .
He was originally going to graduate in December 2019, but the university advised him via email that he would have to do so in mid-2020 to develop skills such as critical analysis, creativity and understanding . Then his parents began to negotiate with different universities to send their son to complete his studies, and finally he ended up choosing the University of Antwerp.
As explained by the boy’s parents to Belgian radio RTB, Laurent Simons has an IQ of 145 . In addition, he speaks French, Dutch and German.
