Diploma Student Success

September brings a new class of students to ICTP for the Postgraduate Diploma Program, excited and ready to dive into their studies. They can look to the previous Diploma class for inspiration, as many recent graduates are starting PhD programs at prestigious institutions worldwide. The recent graduation ceremony for the Diploma Program was quite a celebration, honoring how hard the students had worked and the exciting next steps the program prepared them for. "We get to meet so many people from different places, from different experiences in life, and I've learned a lot from talking and studying with them," says Yusuf Shaidu, a graduate of the Condensed Matter Physics Diploma course.

Not only did the Diploma Program serve as the hoped-for launching pad to further study, the 2016 class of students developed a web of supportive that they can rely on as they continue their studies. As well as their fellow students, the more established scientists they've met at ICTP provide a great network for their future work. "Every connection to a new scientist increases your knowledge, you see their way of thinking and it helps you refresh your ideas and increase your knowledge," says Vahatra Rabodonandrianandraina, a Mathematics Diploma course graduate.

“There is a friendly environment here, you don’t see any hierarchy or wall between student and professor, which helps speed up your learning process,” says Ali Rida Khalife, a High Energy graduate, adding, “After I get my PhD, this attitude is something I would like to bring back to my home in Lebanon, as well as enhancing the link between ICTP, my country, and my previous faculty.”

ICTP profiled four of the top students from 2016's class of Diploma students, who are now on their way to start their PhD programs in Amsterdam, Baltimore, and in Trieste. You can read more about them and their paths to science, ICTP, and beyond here:

• Vahatra Rabodonandrianandraina
• Janak Raj Joshi
• Ali Rida Khalife
• Yusuf Shaidu