Triumph for graduates from home and away

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Against the odds

Two students from war-torn Kosovo joined 600 others at the winter graduation ceremonies in the Gardner Arts Centre.

University Chancellor Lord Attenborough conferred MAs in Contemporary European Studies on Filloreta Bytyçi, 37, and Besa Ilazi, 30, ethnic Albanians from Pristina, who completed their degrees under the most stressful circumstances imaginable.

They first arrived in Brighton in autumn 1998, as Yugoslav forces mounted a systematic campaign of persecution and mass deportation of Kosovo's ethnic Albanians.

"It was hell for them personally", said Dr Paul Taggart of the Sussex European Institute. "It was almost impossible for them to concentrate on their studies while the situation in Kosovo was so tense."

Although some of Filloreta's relatives escaped to Macedonia, her parents remained in Pristina throughout the crisis. "It was a very bad situation", she said. "We didn't know what was happening to our families. We could phone sometimes, but it wasn't so often."

Both families survived and Filloreta and Besa returned to Kosovo in September after Serb forces had left the province.

Filloreta is now considering a number of job offers from local non-governmental organisations and international organisations in Pristina. Besa is working for the United Nations Development Project in the province.

Besa Ilazi (left) and Filloreta Bytyçi

Never too old

Age is no barrier to learning, as octogenarian graduate Laurette Elliot has proved. Laurette, 80, completed an MA in Russian and Eastern European Studies at Sussex and even braved living on campus for 15 months before deciding to commute from her home in Portsmouth.

But she was no stranger to student life: she already had a BA in Russian Studies (which involved spending a year abroad in St Petersburg) and an MA in European Studies from the University of Portsmouth.

And she's not done with studying yet. Laurette, whose dissertation at Sussex considered the influence of Peter the Great on art and culture, said she is now considering an MPhil: "A research degree wouldn't involve so much travelling", she reasoned.

Real-life reward

Bosnian refugee Zafir Behlic, who left Sarajevo in the grip of conflict eight years ago, has gained a distinction for his MA in Migration Studies at Sussex.

He was the first student to enrol on the course in 1997 and combined part-time study with working for Refugee Action in London.

Zafir, 32, said: "Sussex was so supportive. People took me for what I was. All the way through I received nothing but support."

His tutor, Professor Russell King, said: "The course enabled Zafir to put his own personal and professional life experience into practice. He was a wonderful student."

Zafir, who also has a degree in journalism from Sarajevo University, now plans to work in international development. He eventually hopes to return to Bosnia.

A learning organisation

Joanna Cheetham somehow managed to combine being the extraordinarily busy co-ordinator for English (the largest subject group in arts) with a part-time MA in English Literature. Her tutor, Dr Jenny Taylor, described Joanna's job as "one of the most demanding in the University".

Joanna started the job in 1996 and began her degree the following year, after being inspired by the students and academics she met.

Bookie's best bet

Bookmaker Andy Briggs was odds-on favourite to complete his doctorate in Mathematics at Sussex. Andy, 39, who has also been a policeman and an insurance salesman, first came here as a maths undergraduate and stayed on after gaining his BSc. Although obviously an expert in the field of chance and probability, he is now hoping to work in the City in financial mathematics.