The scholarship covered complete tuition fees, accommodation, medical insurance, and monthly stipends. But the course to the scholarship was filled with numerous rejection emails.
“This journey came with numerous ‘love letters’– rejection letters. I got lots of ‘we are sorry to notify you’ emails,” he said.He recalled using to many programs, getting ready for standardized tests, sending cold emails to professors, and in some cases paying application costs while pursuing his imagine studying abroad.During his master’s program, Ibukun enhanced his academic profile and research study identity. His Master’s thesis was published in the proceedings of the ACM Seminar on Applied Computing in Italy in 2025, a significant academic milestone for a young researcher.He likewise presented research at Deep Knowing Indaba in 2023, among the largest artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence conferences in Africa. Together with his academic work, he developed experience as an AI engineer, information scientist, scientist, speaker
, and author.In 2025, barely a year after finishing his master’s degree, Ibukun protected another significant academic opportunity.He was granted the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Fellowship, one of the most prominent and competitive doctoral fellowships in Europe, moneyed by the European Union.The fellowship supports his completely funded PhD research in Computer technology at Aarhus University, supplying among the most competitive doctoral research positions offered in Europe.Reflecting on his journey, Ibukun credited the mentorship and assistance he got during his master’s program, especially from his thesis manager, who assisted him release his first term paper and supplied a strong recommendation letter.”My master’s degree shaped my research study identity and gave me the foundation to compete at the greatest level, “he stated. He also motivated other trainees seeking worldwide scholarships not to give up in spite of the obstacles.”To everyone attempting to get
a totally funded scholarship, keep at it. Dreams do come to life, we just require the courage to pursue them,”Ibukun said.