Thiruvananthapuram: From a child's first lessons at his mother's side to the highest reaches of academia, the journey has come full circle for Gautham Suresh Babu. Years after his mother, Bini Saroj, guided his first steps in learning, the duo has now reached a milestone together when they earned their PhDs on the same day from universities in two different countries.

Bini and Gautham are residents of ‘Ithal’ House at Pallotti Lane on Gandhipuram Road in Sreekaryam.

Bini, a law graduate from Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram, who also holds a postgraduate degree in Public Administration from the Kariavattom campus, earned her PhD in Business Law from the British University in Dubai. On the same day, Gautham received his PhD in Synthetic Biology from the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom.

Bini is a partner at ABS Legal LLP in Dubai, while her husband, Suresh Babu, works as an adviser to the electrical division of a company owned by the Dubai Sheikh.