It took nearly a decade and thousands of air miles but a De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) student has finally celebrated his graduation.
Hans Prueller spent years flying between Austria and Leicester, juggling part-time work and the birth of his first child, to complete his PhD in Machine Learning.
The 35-year-old said he was “overwhelmed with emotion” after collecting his doctorate at the graduation ceremony held at Leicester’s Curve theatre.
He said: “It’s been a hard nine years but to have finally done it is amazing. I was waiting behind to go up on stage and I was crying, it was so emotional.”
His family and partner Martina had flown from Austria with him to witness his graduation.
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Hans said: “I just want to enjoy this, it was a really special occasion. I have a few ideas and projects lined up but there is one special new project I’ve started – on the day I finally handed in my thesis my daughter Miriam was born. She’s eight-months-old now.”
After completing a BSc in Computer Science at the University of Derby, Hans began his PhD at DMU in 2005.
He said: “I did it distance learning, flying to Leicester one or two times a year. I worked part-time throughout to support myself so it was a lot to take on but I’m really happy to have done it.”
Hans was one of many students whose family had flown in to see their big day. Sufian Osman's parents had flown in the day before from Malawi, Africa, to see their son collect his degree in Mechanical Engineering. "We are very very proud of him," said his father. "This is such a happy moment."
DMU is a truly global organisation, welcoming more than 2,700 international students from more than 130 different countries. This year DMU was named in the top 25 UK universities with the best employment rates, with more than 95% of graduates from summer 2014 in work or further study – higher than the national average of around 93%.
DMU has also excelled in the recent Higher Education Review, carried out by the Quality Assurance Agency, being commended in the enhancement of student learning opportunities, and identified as an example of good practice in many vital areas.
Posted on Tuesday 14 July 2015