Three times cum laude: “My high-school teachers wouldn't believe this”

No one, including Dirk Lauret himself, had ever thought he would complete three master's at the same time at TU/e, and with such impressive grades. On his grade list stand tens, nines, eights and a few stray sevens. “If you had told my high-school teachers that I would later graduate cum laude, they would not have believed you,” says Lauret. “In high school I had to work hard for a six or five point five and I even had to retake my fifth year of VWO. So there was certainly no preconceived plan of completing my master's with grades like these. But when I got my first nine, and then a second, I thought, ‘I'm going to give it a go.’”

Why three master's? “I couldn't decide during my Bachelor's of Electrical Engineering what I wanted to do afterwards. I was going for a master in Electrical Engineering, but, while taking the electives, I discovered that I also enjoy teaching.” The electives in the area of security also ignited Lauret's interest. “That's when having to make a choice started stressing me out: should I maybe also take a Master's of Science Education and Communication? Or a Master's of Information Security Technology? I found it a really difficult choice and so I just decided to do all three master's at the same time,” he says from an office at ETH Zurich, his no-nonsense attitude betraying his Brabant roots. Since August he has been working in Switzerland as a doctoral candidate.

'You are out of your mind', said my father when he heard I wanted to take three master's degrees

Dirk Lauret, three-time cum laude alumnus

His father's reaction when he told him that he was going for three master's was: ‘You are out of your mind! Who on earth would do that!’ “We nearly got into an argument about it. My father doesn't want me to become a stereotypical nerd, only occupied with his studies. But now he is incredibly proud of me, as is my mother. And they make sure I stay grounded.”

Lauret used the entire last year of his bachelor's to coordinate the three master's programs. “It took a lot of juggling because all the master's were designed to be two-year programs. With the help of the academic advisors we managed to put together a really nice study package.”

First Calculus grade: 3,5

The very first exam that Lauret did in his TU/e career - the dreaded interim test in Calculus - was not encouraging. “I called up my mom, in tears. ‘I got a 3.5, I don't know if I can hack it here.’ I never found it easy, but when you get a grade like that, it isn't motivating. My mother suggested that maybe I'd be wise to transfer to a university of applied sciences, but I didn't want to give up.”

And a good thing too because his next grade showed things in a different light. “We were sitting in a lecture and my friend next to me got an email about retaking Calculus. I was refreshing my mail the whole time, expecting to have to do a retake. But then I saw my grade: a nine. A nine! I had never seen a nine on my grade list. That's when I jokingly said to my father, ‘I'm simply going to pass my freshman year cum laude’. He laughed at me outright.” But his son amazed friend, foe and father and pulled it off. “My bachelor's is the only thing I didn't pass cum laude, but I think I've proved myself, don't you?” he says with a wink.

Rhythm

You would think he'd had his nose in a book day and night to complete three master's studies in three years with these results, but nothing could be further from the truth. “My body has an internal clock that ensures I wake up every morning at seven o'clock. Whether I've been out on the town until 4 a.m. or had an early night. At seven thirty in the morning I'm at my desk, starting work. I work through until five o'clock in the afternoon, then my head is full.” He follows this rhythm every day, including weekends. “Although during corona I did spend a little more time on my studies because, after all, there was nothing else I could do,” he admits.

Do what you enjoy, you'll see it reflected in your grades. I have proved that empirically with a single test subject

Dirk Lauret, three-time cum laude alumnus

There is no formula for success then. “My friends often ask me, ‘But how do you do this?’ I have no idea, there is no secret. I do what I enjoy and you see that reflected in my grades.” He jokes, “I have proved empirically with a single test subject that this works.”

Part-time math teacher

After doing an internship for the Master's of Science Education and Communication, Lauret stayed on as a part-time math teacher at Lorentz Casimir Lyceum (LCL). “I find teaching very relaxing. And having contact with the pupils in my mentor class made a welcome change during the lockdown.” The days of self-study that he missed because he was teaching, he made up for at the weekend.

Lauret recalls with pleasure being the youngest teacher at LCL. “And I look young too. Some pupils in their sixth year of VWO seemed older than me. They were giving me some odd looks during the first Math D lesson I taught when I went over and stood on the raised platform for lecturers, ready to start the lesson. Fortunately, when they saw that I know what I'm talking about, I quickly won their respect.” At graduation ceremonies he was often mistaken for a pupil. “I'd always be asked, ‘Did you pass too?’ To which I'd answer, “Yes, but that was six years ago.”

ETH Zurich

The doctoral position at ETH Zurich came to Lauret's attention thanks to his supervisor for the Master's of Information Security Technology, which is taught in cooperation with Radboud University. “At Radboud University the emphasis was on security: software and network security as well as security in organizations. We had contact with someone in Zurich about wireless communication and security. It turned out there was a position available there in a group working at a fundamental level on processor security. I found that very interesting.”

After a job interview that lasted an entire day, Lauret was offered the position with the Secure & Trustworthy Systems Group. “There was an immediate click with the professor and the group, which is relatively small, just four people, but really nice and international. I only found out afterwards that ETH has a really good reputation.”

Future

“I never thought I'd come so far. I'm just doing what I enjoy, that is the most important thing. And what the future may bring me, and whether I'll ever come back to TU/e? Who knows. I always enjoyed myself there. But first I'm going to get my doctorate. I can't look four years into the future.”