Some Nobel laureates were straight-A students from the get-go. But others AFP spoke to recounted how they cut class, got expelled, and had doubts about their future.

Perhaps the most illustrious Nobel Prize winner, Albert Einstein, was once a mediocre student at Zurich Polytechnic School, now ETH Zurich.

The young Einstein skipped classes, wanted to study physics exclusively, and finished second-last in his class in 1900.

After graduating, he was the only student not offered a research assistant position, according to the Swiss university’s website.

Einstein went on to win the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.

Frances Arnold, who won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, also cut classes after a turbulent start to her education in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s.

“I was disruptive. I was just bored and well beyond what the rest of the kids in the class were doing. And the teachers often gave me little projects decorating the classroom and things like that,” she recalled in an interview with AFP.

At the age of 10, she was allowed to take high school courses such as geometry — a challenge she appreciated at first.

But by the time she reached her teens, she wasn’t enjoying school anymore to the point that she stopped going and was expelled.

“I guess I wasn’t interested in what they had to teach us. Or if I was interested in it, I just learned it on my own from a textbook. So I managed to pass all my classes despite many absences, I would say.”

Now aged 69, she acknowledges that hers is not a model to follow, but believes schools should show more flexibility.

“They don’t have the wherewithal to do anything special for the kids who really would benefit,” she lamented.

Overcoming challenges

David Card, the 2021 Nobel economics laureate, also had unconventional educational beginnings. “There’s almost nobody I’ve met… in an economics PhD programme that has a background like mine where they went to a rural school.”

Born on a farm in Canada in the 1950s, he was enrolled in a small one-room schoolhouse, where one teacher taught around 30 students at different grade levels.

“The way the teacher did it was she would spend some time with each row, which was one of the grades. I actually paid attention to a couple of grades beyond mine for most of the material,” he said.

“So you could kind of accelerate very quickly, very easily.”

The system was less ideal for students who needed more individualised support, he acknowledged.

According to the Nobel Foundation, other laureates had to overcome major academic challenges before going on to win the prestigious Nobel.

The first woman to win the economics prize, Elinor Ostrom, was turned down when she applied for a PhD in economics; 2009 medicine prize laureate Carol Greider struggled with dyslexia as a child; and 2015 chemistry prize winner Tomas Lindahl failed chemistry in high school.

Humble beginnings

Arnold and Card both started working at a young age, which the two consider an important life experience.

In her teens, Arnold held odd jobs as a waitress, receptionist and taxi driver.

“You appreciate more what the university education can give to you, in terms of getting a job you actually might want to have for the rest of your life.”

“It also teaches you how to organise your time.”

Similarly, Card juggled school and farm life very early on.

“I don’t think there was that much homework back then in my schools. So there was lots of time,” he recalled.

“I helped my father. I learned to drive a tractor when I was about 11. Every morning, I got up at 5am and helped him milk the cows and then I would have a shower and go to school.”

Both prizewinners also studied other subjects before discovering their respective passions.

Arnold pursued studies in mechanical engineering and aeronautics before turning to chemistry.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. I went into mechanical engineering because it had the fewest requirements for engineering,” she admitted.

And Card initially studied physics before switching to economics.

Despite their unconventional paths, both ultimately found their way to brilliance.

DUBAI: Set against the backdrop of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, the Dubai Fountain has once again come to life after a five-month closure, dazzling visitors with its spectacular display.

The iconic attraction reopened to the public with an opening show choreographed to an Arabic melody, drawing large crowds who gathered to witness its grand return.

Mohamed Alabbar, founder of Emaar Properties — the developer behind the Burj Khalifa — said on the occasion that the Dubai Fountain symbolises “the spirit and energy of Dubai”, bringing joy and wonder to all who visit.

The latest upgrades have introduced cutting-edge technology, refreshed choreography, and enhanced sound and lighting systems, designed to offer audiences an even more impressive experience.

Regular shows will now resume, taking place every half-hour between 6 pm and 11 pm daily. Afternoon performances will run at 1pm and 1:30 pm from Saturday to Thursday, and at 2 pm and 2:30 pm on Fridays.

Construction of the Dubai Fountain began in 2005, with its grand opening in 2009.

Renowned as the world’s largest dancing fountain, it can shoot water jets up to 152 metres high, supported by 6,600 lights and 25 colour projectors.

A second phase of renovation is scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2026.

Donald Trump signaled Thursday that he intends to proceed with mass layoffs of US federal workers, escalating pressure on Democrats to support measures aimed at ending the ongoing government shutdown.

The Republican president announced he would meet with budget chief Russell Vought “to determine which of the numerous Democrat-led agencies most of which he called a political scam should face cuts, and whether those reductions would be temporary or permanent.”

Trump shared the announcement on his Truth Social platform as the government entered its second day of a shutdown, expected to affect 750,000 federal employees, who would be sent home without pay across multiple agencies.

Vought informed House Republicans on Wednesday that many workers could face permanent layoffs in the coming days, echoing Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, who said the firings were “imminent” and could number “in the thousands.”

Trump framed these cuts as a strategy to increase pressure on Democrats, stating, “we can take actions during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are damaging to them and cannot be undone by them.”

However, Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House counterpart Hakeem Jeffries dismissed the threat of mass firings as political intimidation, asserting that such moves would likely not hold up in court.

While two Senate Democrats and an independent aligned with the party broke from their colleagues, the majority continue to oppose a House-passed resolution to fund the government at current levels through November 21.

“This is day two of Donald Trump’s shutdown, but it’s day 256 of the chaos his presidency has inflicted on the American people,” Jeffries told reporters at the US Capitol on Thursday.

He accused Republicans of shutting down the federal government because “they do not want to provide healthcare for working-class Americans,” while emphasizing that Democrats are willing to negotiate “anytime, anywhere”, including with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, to find a resolution.

Weekend votes?

The Senate is not voting on Thursday because of the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday, but another vote is expected on Friday and on most days until the standoff is resolved.

With Democrats expected to block the Republican reopening plan again, Republicans were reportedly mulling whether to send their senators home after the vote — effectively guaranteeing the shutdown drags into next week.

But House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose members have been off all week, told reporters Senate leaders need to stick to an initial plan to work through the weekend in Washington.

“And the House is coming back next week, hoping that they will be sending us something to work on, that we can get back to work and do the people’s business,” he told a news conference at the Capitol.

For now, Democrats are dug in on their demands for extending health care subsidies before they will agree to a funding deal.

Five additional Democratic votes would be needed to reach the 60-vote threshold in the 100-member Senate to green-light the House-passed bill.

As each side seeks to point the finger at the other over the shutdown, polling indicates that Democrats and Republicans may currently be sharing the blame.

A new poll from the Washington Post found that 47 percent of Americans blame Trump and congressional Republicans for the shutdown, while just 30 percent point the finger at Democrats.

But a New York Times/Siena survey showed two-thirds of respondents said Democrats should not shut down the government if Republicans do not agree to their demands.

Adding to pressure on Democrats to relent and provide votes to reopen the government, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC Thursday that the shutdown could hurt US economic growth.

“This isn’t the way to have a discussion, shutting down the government and lowering the GDP,” he said.