“This is fairly extraordinary”, says Paul de Bra, professor of Information Systems at the Department of Mathematics & Computer Science and initiator of the bachelor program Web Science. “You have to realize this kid isn’t a computer science graduate, and that he has single-handedly built this app. I’m not saying there aren’t more of these whiz kids out there; after all, it’s a coincidence he was discovered.”

"Take the world-famous Vienna Philharmonic. Only top musicians are accepted, but each one of them remains nameless. They’re not even mentioned in the credits of the New Year’s concert, but the conductor is. Like those musicians, there are lots of talented, young programmers, but the chances of one of them creating something a major company is willing to pay thirty million dollars for, are slim. Luck is a major factor.”

“People without a relevant degree who have built an app and become rich off it mostly make money because their product is downloaded a lot. That’s more common. This example is of an altogether different nature, though. Summly is free; this kid didn’t make any money with it. Apparently, Yahoo didn’t like the app being out there and decided to buy it for a large sum of money. The first thing they did after their purchase was take down the app."

"It’s quite sad, really, because now the boy has been bought off and will sink into oblivion. He’s lucky he’s good looking; we’ll probably see him in ad campaign soon. After that, he can spend the rest of his life pondering how to multiply those thirty million dollars. And since he’s already this successful, he’ll probably feel he doesn’t need an education anymore. All in all, it’s a bad example for responsible academic programs…”

“The young man’s concept isn’t that special. The technology he used isn’t his either, but was invented at Stanford University. He did make his product look good, working according to the basic principle ‘keep it simple’. Young people often have a more vivid imagination than most adults and are better at assessing new ideas."