Thursday, July 21, 2016
Abbas travelled to Europe in 2007 when he was just 13 years old
A SOMALI refugee who arrived in Europe on a people smugglers' boat without any formal education has just passed a Masters course in astrophysics.
Abbas Roble, 22, came to Britain in 2007 aged 13, after travelling through Africa, across the Mediterranean to Crete and then onto Europe
He was held by the immigration authorities for a year but, on his release, the youngster was determined to make up for lost time.
Now, after years of hard study, he has become the first asylum seeker to be given a place on a prestigious PhD course at the Photon Science Institute at the University of Manchester.
Abbas started his educational journey by taking his GCSEs at a college in Leeds and then an Access to Higher Education course which led to a place to study Physics in Manchester.
He was forced to delay joining the course for two years because of his immigration status when he won a full tuition fee scholarship and a small grant.
Even then he could not afford to pay rent so continued living with a family in Leeds from where he commuted every day for three years before moving on to his Masters course.
His determination and application has paid off and Abbas gained a first class Masters of Physics with Theoretical Physics.
He said: “Manchester is where new physics is born. It’s where the atom was split, the first computer was built and graphene was isolated.
“The university is a world-leading institution for fundamental physics, and Manchester is a beautiful cosmopolitan city. I would highly recommend it to anyone.”
Dr Tim Westlake, the university's director of student experience described Abbas as an "exceptional young man."