[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/international\/the-worlds-oldest-phd-student-shares-advice\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/international\/the-worlds-oldest-phd-student-shares-advice\/","headline":"The World’s Oldest PhD Student Shares Advice","name":"The World’s Oldest PhD Student Shares Advice","description":"Fill Me In When faced with old age, there probably aren\u2019t many people who\u2019d consider a PhD being a necessity. This is particularly so in a country like Singapore, where educational achievements are deeply pinned to achieving material progression in life. But here’s a story of the world\u2019s oldest PhD student. He is so old […]","datePublished":"2020-12-13","dateModified":"2022-04-15","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/hijanah-hernandez\/#Person","name":"Hijanah Hernandez","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/hijanah-hernandez\/","identifier":68,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6649f7f6828615c253f8ddf2aa05876adb09a77732e58ff64776d71289d3745?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6649f7f6828615c253f8ddf2aa05876adb09a77732e58ff64776d71289d3745?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1607840143957_oldes-phd.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1607840143957_oldes-phd.jpg","height":838,"width":1600},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/international\/the-worlds-oldest-phd-student-shares-advice\/","about":["Community","International"],"wordCount":911,"articleBody":"Fill Me InWhen faced with old age, there probably aren\u2019t many people who\u2019d consider a PhD being a necessity. This is particularly so in a country like Singapore, where educational achievements are deeply pinned to achieving material progression in life.But here’s a story of the world\u2019s oldest PhD student. He is so old that he\u2019s lived through the world\u2019s worst times: flying locusts, COVID-19, and before 2020, he lived through war, famine, and poverty, among other things.The registered record-holder is a 104-year-old who just submitted his PhD thesis, after first embarking on it at the University of Manchester 77 years ago. The secrets that he attributes to his successful educational pursuits are also the same ones that many regard to be the secrets to living long lives. And to a very large extent, it\u2019s no surprise.\u00a0Taking a page out of his bookThe exemplary 104-year-old man who submitted his PhD in October this year decided to pursue it even after having a successful lifelong career as an engineer. The man from Medellin, Colombia goes by Lucio Chiquito, and a name that many might find recognisable. Mr Chiquito is the co-founder of Colombia\u2019s largest energy company, and is definitely not a man who needs a PhD. According to Mr Chiquito himself, he\u2019s never once stopped working.\u00a0Source: BBC ReelThe vigour-filled man had spent years on his thesis and doctoral studies trying to solve a problem that he\u2019d faced throughout his career as an engineer. While the world crumbled and grew around Mr Chiquito during COVID-19, it was the pandemic that inspired a solution to what he\u2019d been pondering in relation to his work on rivers and streams.\u00a0Mr Chiquito\u2019s nodus was about identifying how water could be most efficiently extracted from a river. He hopes that his PhD work will enable the use of hydroelectric power and irrigation products to contribute to more efficient water usage.\u00a0It\u2019s in purposeful actionWhen asked how he has lived such a long life, where he remains in good health, Mr Chiquito shared advice that was simple and brimming with heart. \u201cI eat a lot of fruit. I shower with cold water,\u201d he said, smoothing his fingers over a wrinkle-free face in a BBC Reel video.\u00a0Part of his daily routine includes keeping active, and in the morning, walking and stopping by a river to pray and to reflect. When Mr Chiquito isn\u2019t reading, he\u2019s studying or \u201cdoing something like it\u201d.In the video, Mr Chiquito\u2019s granddaughter quotes him imparting knowledge to his great-granddaughter that can only really be learnt over the course of time and wisdom. \u201cYour dreams \u2013 you have to work for them, because they don\u2019t come true out of thin air,\u201d he shared.\u00a0Mr Chiquito\u2019s PhD is a labour of love and his life\u2019s work, with a hefty 77 years spent on it. If anything, it goes to show that there\u2019s plenty more to an education than climbing corporate ladders. In this instance, it is testament to how learning, at its heart, is to better the world at large.Screw PhDs\u2026 I\u2019m afraid I\u2019m too old to get a degreeAnother man who\u2019s embarked on a path that\u2019s similar to Mr Chiquito\u2019s is Mr Giussepe Paterno, who\u2019s the oldest person to have graduated in Italy, at the age of 96. Mr Paterno enrolled for a degree in History and Philosophy at the University of Palermo when he was 90 years old, in 2014. He graduated with first-class honours in Philosophy.Source: 3mins NoticiasUnlike many of us, Mr Paterno had not had the privilege of pursuing an education in his youth. He was previously a railroad worker and had faced many tests in his life, from childhood poverty to war. He had received a basic childhood education and then joined the Navy to serve in World War II. After that, he weathered on in a society that was focused on rebuilding after the war, prioritising family-building and working to get by.\u00a0“Knowledge is like a suitcase that I carry with me, it is a treasure,” Mr Paterno said.\u00a0His desire for knowledge was never extinguished, despite the hardships he faced. According to him, he had never been tempted by the parties of his classmates, aged just above 20 \u2013 though we don\u2019t know how much of a part his age had to play with that.\u00a0Be strong, be brave, be persistent, and do your thingYou don\u2019t need to be young or spry to change the world. Hell, you don\u2019t even need a PhD. Mr Giuessepe Paterno and Mr Lucio Chiquito\u2019s lives tell us that no moment in life is too late to reach for our goals, as long as your passion burns on. With the internet making it easier for us all to be pioneers of digital change, there are ways other than academia for younger generations to make an actionable impact, and they all serve various functions.\u00a0As a great man called Socrates once said, \u201cthe secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new\u201d. And it’s not the ancient Greek philosopher I’m quoting, but a character from\u00a0Way of the the Peaceful Warrior. Join the conversations on THG’s\u00a0Facebook\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram, and get the latest updates via\u00a0Telegram.\u00a0"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"International","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/international\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The World’s Oldest PhD Student Shares Advice","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/international\/the-worlds-oldest-phd-student-shares-advice\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]