My alumni story: the international alum who came to study law – and found the love of his life
When Batuhan Ersoy from Turkey was looking to find a suitable university to study law, he quickly realised that NTU was the best choice.
Having spent two successful years at Nottingham Trent International College, Batuhan completed his Master of Laws postgraduate course.
During his studies, Batuhan would share lectures with fellow international student, Alina. The two clicked immediately and were recently married. We were keen to find out more.
Q: First off, what made you choose NTU?
A: I checked all UK universities in terms of their courses related to energy law, academic staff, facilities, and of course, the location. From the beginning, I just liked NTU and wanted to try it. I was really happy in my postgraduate years as well.
Q: What course did your now wife Alina study at Nottingham Business School? Can you remember what mutual classes you had?
A: Alina studied MSc International Business Management. We had our Pre-Masters together at NTIC, which involved some mutual classes. She came from her home country of Russia to study at NTU. Then after graduation, she returned home, and I back to Turkey. By this time, we’d made a connection, really enjoyed each other’s company, and promised to keep in touch.
Around one and a half years after our graduation, Alina moved to Istanbul. This was all during the impact of COVID restrictions, but we still managed to visit each other quite regularly.
Q: Where did you get married?
A: In Istanbul with Alina’s relatives, her family, and all our international friends – many from NTU.
Q: What do you both do now?
A: After our time at NTU, Alina returned to Russia, where she worked in consultancy and auditing. We were apart for a while, which was difficult, but she's now relocated to Istanbul. She works in budgeting and finance for a group of large companies.
As for me, I worked as a legal counsel after graduation, but then built a law firm with my friends. I'm very proud of what we've achieved. The services we offer include legal consultancy and dispute resolution, and I'm also involved in business development and strategy processes for the machinery industry. Furthermore, I've been inspired to enter politics, and I'm doing valuable work as a city councillor in Istanbul.
Alina and I have come a long way since our journey together started in Nottingham – for everything we have to be grateful for, finding each other at NTU was our biggest gift!
Proud to be NTU
Have you always lived in the UK, or did you come to NTU to study?
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