Student Blog

This is a guest blog written by Batuhan who is studying LLM International Commercial Law.

Mustafa Batuhan Bahceli

My name is Batuhan, I am currently a LLM Student at Bournemouth University. I study International Commercial Law which was my dream to study at master’s level.

The fact that Bournemouth University is well-known in the legal community in my home country and has alumni who work in prestigious law firms was the main factor in my decision to attend the university. Also, I was influenced by Bournemouth’s milder climate than that of other English cities and the fact that it is a university town.

During my studies at BU, I have had the chance to fundraise for an event for Turkish earthquake victims. My classmates and I were deeply impacted by the earthquake that occurred in my nation on February 6 which hit many cities. Turkish students and I got an email from our Head of Department, Katharine Cox, during this time, and it motivated me to do something. Then, I had a short conversation with our department leader Dr. Alison, and she told me that they would support my fundraising idea.

A group of people at a buffet choosing their food

A group of students at the fundraising event

It made me and the other Turkish students motivated that she was personally involved in event planning and budget planning in a short time and took part in this process with us. Together with my classmates, we prepared a variety of Turkish pastries and foods in an effort to spread awareness by serving these to our fellow students and faculty members at the donation event. As a result, we completed the fundraising event very successfully and collected sufficient donations more than we expected. We donated the funds raised to reliable Turkish NGOs and helped the earthquake victims with the donation.

We were reminded that we are not alone in this process by the university’s involvement in it as well as the goodwill displays from our department chairs and other faculty members.

I recommend BU to those who want to do a master’s degree in Law because of the communication of the lecturers and faculty staff with us students, they have a focus on problem-solving when we contact them with any issues.