Student & Graduate Milestones

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Utrecht University Success Stories

Inspiring real-life stories of students from Utrecht University winning top scholarships, earning degrees against the odds, and taking the next big step in their careers.

Stories Published

UU Laureate Directory

11 Profiles Catalogued

11 Profiles

UU Alumna Marcus Thorne Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 for Breakthrough Diagnostics Work

Alumna Milestone

UU Alumna Marcus Thorne Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 for Breakthrough Diagnostics Work

Marcus Thorne• Research Scientist

Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science & Healthcare

Department of Media, Communications & Journalism·Class of 2023

Placement: National Institute for Advanced Medical Research

Marcus Thorne, a Utrecht University science graduate, has been recognised on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for developing a portable rapid diagnostics platform.

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UU Masters Graduate Priya Sharma Wins National Thesis Award for Climate Research

Graduate Milestone

UU Masters Graduate Priya Sharma Wins National Thesis Award for Climate Research

Priya Sharma• Masters Graduate

Winner of National Graduate Thesis Award in Environmental Science

Faculty of Law and Public Governance·Class of 2025

Placement: Government Ministry of Environment & Sustainable Development

Priya Sharma's Masters thesis on coastal erosion modeling and climate adaptation policy has won the National Graduate Thesis Award in Environmental Science.

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Liam O'Connor and UU Engineering Team Win First Place at International Aerospace Challenge

Student Milestone

Liam O'Connor and UU Engineering Team Win First Place at International Aerospace Challenge

Liam O'Connor• Undergraduate Team Lead

1st Place Winner at International Aerospace Design Competition

Faculty of Physics and Astronomy·Class of 2024

Placement: Advanced Aerospace & Robotics Consortium

Undergraduate team led by Liam O'Connor takes top honours for developing an autonomous high-altitude atmospheric sampling drone.

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UU Graduate Amina Adebayo Awarded Global Fellowship for Cancer Genomics Research

Graduate Milestone

UU Graduate Amina Adebayo Awarded Global Fellowship for Cancer Genomics Research

Amina Adebayo• Doctoral Researcher

Selected for Prestigious International Doctoral Fellowship

Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering·Class of 2024

Placement: Leading Global Research Institute

Utrecht University graduate Amina Adebayo has been named an international fellow to pursue advanced oncology diagnostics and translational genomics research.

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Elena Rostova and UU Team Win First Place at International Aerospace Engineering Challenge

Student Milestone

Elena Rostova and UU Team Win First Place at International Aerospace Engineering Challenge

Elena Rostova• Undergraduate Team Lead

1st Place Winner at International Aerospace Design Competition

School of Business & Entrepreneurship·Class of 2022

Placement: Advanced Aerospace & Robotics Consortium

Undergraduate team led by Elena Rostova takes top honours for developing an autonomous high-altitude atmospheric sampling drone system.

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UU Alumnus David Chen Raises $12M for Climate Analytics Technology Startup

Alumnus Milestone

UU Alumnus David Chen Raises $12M for Climate Analytics Technology Startup

David Chen• Alumnus & Co-Founder

Closed $12M Series A Financing for Environmental Sensing Startup

Faculty of Physics and Astronomy·Class of 2025

Placement: CleanTech Ventures & Enterprise Incubator

Founded out of the university innovation incubator, David Chen's startup uses satellite remote sensing to monitor industrial emissions.

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UU Alumnus Marcus Thorne Raises $12M for Clean Tech Climate Analytics Startup

Alumnus Milestone

UU Alumnus Marcus Thorne Raises $12M for Clean Tech Climate Analytics Startup

Marcus Thorne• Alumnus & Co-Founder

Closed $12M Series A Financing for Environmental Sensing Startup

Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering·Class of 2023

Placement: CleanTech Ventures & Enterprise Incubator

Founded out of the university innovation incubator, Marcus Thorne's startup is utilizing high-resolution satellite remote sensing to monitor industrial emissions.

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UU Graduate Elena Rostova Awarded Global Fellowship for Cancer Genomics Research

Graduate Milestone

UU Graduate Elena Rostova Awarded Global Fellowship for Cancer Genomics Research

Elena Rostova• Doctoral Researcher

Selected for Prestigious International Doctoral Fellowship

Faculty of Law and Public Governance·Class of 2022

Placement: Leading Global Research Institute

Utrecht University graduate Elena Rostova has been named an international fellow to pursue advanced oncology diagnostics and translational gene therapy.

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UU Alumnus Lucas Dubois Builds EdTech Platform Reaching Over 500,000 Students Worldwide

Alumnus Milestone

UU Alumnus Lucas Dubois Builds EdTech Platform Reaching Over 500,000 Students Worldwide

Lucas Dubois• Social Entrepreneur & Founder

Founded award-winning EdTech platform reaching 500,000 students

Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering·Class of 2022

Placement: Global EdTech Foundation & Social Enterprise Hub

Inspired by their student experience at Utrecht University, Lucas Dubois has founded an educational technology platform delivering quality academic content to underserved communities.

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Utrecht University Researcher Liam O'Sullivan Appointed to National Academy Young Researcher Fellowship

Researcher Milestone

Utrecht University Researcher Liam O'Sullivan Appointed to National Academy Young Researcher Fellowship

Liam O'Sullivan• Postdoctoral Fellow

Appointed to Prestigious National Academy Young Researcher Fellowship

Department of Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence·Class of 2024

Placement: National Academy of Sciences & Innovation

Liam O'Sullivan from Utrecht University has been appointed to the National Academy's competitive Young Researcher Fellowship programme.

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UU PhD Student Fatima Al-Mansoor Publishes First-Author Paper in Nature Communications

Student Milestone

UU PhD Student Fatima Al-Mansoor Publishes First-Author Paper in Nature Communications

Fatima Al-Mansoor• PhD Candidate

Published first-author paper in Nature Communications as PhD student

Faculty of Physics and Astronomy·Class of 2023

Placement: International Research Consortium

Fatima Al-Mansoor, a second-year PhD student at Utrecht University, has achieved the rare distinction of publishing as lead author in Nature Communications.

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