Laurent Simons, a Belgian boy of only 9 years old , will become next December the youngest person to obtain a university degree, specifically an electrical engineering , a 3-year academic program that he has managed to complete in 9 months.
Laurent is not the first child to complete such a feat: in 1994, the American Michael Kearney graduated with 10 years at the University of South Alabama, where he studied Anthropology and was distinguished with the "World Guinness Record" to the youngest university graduate , a recognition that still shows.
"I started primary school with 4 years, I went to high school with 6 and I entered the university last March, with 9 years, " Laurent told Efe during an interview at the Technical University of Eindhoven (Holland), where he receives private lessons .
"Little Einstein" does not follow a common curriculum , his mother, Lydia Simons, explained to Efe, who clarifies that "he is at his own pace."
"On Mondays I am presented with the courses that I will give that week, on Tuesdays I have internships, on Wednesdays it is my study day , on Thursdays I have tutoring with teachers and on Fridays I take exams," said Laurent, who, according to his mother, " if you don't want to take an exam on the scheduled day, you can postpone it. "
The objective of this child, whose IQ was estimated at the maximum value of 145 points , is "to extend life" through the creation of "artificial organs", an activity that, according to Laurent, "could achieve eternal life . "
At the moment, Laurent is working on his final degree project : an electronic chip connected to the brain.
Despite his brilliant academic curriculum and professional aspirations, Laurent, who has become a media star in Belgium and the Netherlands and has more than 43,000 followers on Instagram, is still a child who is ashamed to speak in front of the camera and it's hard to tear out more than two words in a row.
"I like to play with my friends, play video games, be with my dog and watch Netflix," explains the boy, who still maintains his circle of primary school friends , although, as specified, he doesn't talk about college with them.
It was precisely at school when his teachers realized that he learned things "very fast" and studying for him was "very easy", in the words of the boy.
"I didn't get bored in class because they taught me the things that older kids did," Laurent confesses, who at 6 years old his first teachers told him they couldn't teach him "anything else," his mother revealed.
The child's grandparents were the first to realize that Laurent "was special," explains Lydia Simons, who for work reasons left his parents in the care of his son during his early childhood, who spent it in Ostend (Belgium).
"At first we did not pay much attention to them because grandparents are always special grandparents ," joked Laurent's mother, who later realized that her son "did not connect with the school system."
"I don't feel special about being in college," says Laurent, who nonetheless likes to feel "a little famous" when people recognize him at the university and ask for photos, he says.
In the mother's opinion, the accelerated academic life of her son and the media pressure to which he has been exposed during the last month "does not steal his childhood" since "his university life and personal life are very separate" .
"He plays 'Minecraft' on the console, watches Netflix series and plays with water guns," says Lydia Simons, who believes Laurent "does the same things as any 9-year-old child," with the difference that he "Know more".
The Simons believe that it would not have been possible to ignore the intelligence of their son and that, on the contrary, "it is important to give Laurent the opportunity to continue developing academically."
"It has been difficult, because it is something that you have never experienced before and that nobody has lived," confesses the mother, who considers it essential to "listen" to her son to "know what he is thinking, what is happening and what he wants to do next ".
At the end of his engineering, Laurent wants to study a doctorate and train in medicine , although for now his parents still negotiate with him the time to turn off Netflix and go to bed.
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