Woman celebrates second degree at same uni as son

Igbal Zein is celebrating after completing her nursing degree

A woman from Stoke-on-Trent is celebrating the completion of her nursing degree, 30 years after first graduating as an agricultural engineer in Sudan.

Igbal Zein is now a district nurse at Midlands Partnership NHS Trust, after attaining the qualification at Keele University.

She first came to the UK in 2015 and started working in a care home but felt she had more to offer.

Three of Ms Zein’s children are now at university, including her eldest son Babikir who is also at Keele in the fourth year of his medicine degree.

After living in six different countries, and raising five children, she is now embarking on a new chapter in her life.

The 49-year-old said: “Throughout my life, I have communicated with people from different cultures and backgrounds, and that makes me feel comfortable and at ease when I am talking to my patients.”

She said it was not an easy journey, and she had to go to college in Stoke-on-Trent to study maths, English and other subjects before starting her degree.

Ms Zein said she was now setting her sights on completing a master’s degree.

She said: “I am the kind of person who loves research and to read articles about new discoveries, and all those sorts of things.

“In my job now, I am always looking at what could be done differently to improve the service I am providing. I am always trying to keep my mind active.”