Lille and Paris light future career path for law student
A GCU student’s passion for women’s rights has developed further after inspiring experiences in France.
LLB (Hons) Bachelor of Laws student Dürdane Öz spent six months in Lille on exchange earlier this year before heading to Young Leaders Union Paris 2025 in November. The Global Youth Conference brings together individuals from a variety of countries to help make our world a better, more inclusive environment for us all.
The trip to the French capital followed on from Dürdane’s Carnegie Trust Scholarship in the summer, which saw her carry out innovative research on gender-based violence policies in Scottish universities.
We sat down with Dürdane to find out more about her interest in international law and her continued focus in supporting women across the globe.
How did the opportunity for you to go to Paris come about?
“I went to Lille at the beginning of this year to study on exchange. I’ve always been interested in international law, so that’s why I wanted to go over and study somewhere else. I know in the future that I want to work in the European Union (EU) or the United Nations (UN). I was keen on going to France because French is the official language of the UN. Lille was perfect because you’re only 40 minutes on the train to Paris, and I was really intrigued because it’s obviously right on the Belgian border as well. I just love the city and love the architecture.
“During my six months there I had the opportunity to join the Model United Nations (MUN) debate club, which was basically a society within the University of Lille. Through this I got the chance to take part in debates around gender equality and women’s rights, which really linked to my interests. It was quite intimidating at first because they treat it like you’re in a Security Council meeting in the United Nations.
“One of my key targets from exchange was to start building a portfolio so I was pleased to be able to get some experience when I was there. Another major bonus was just being in that international space and meeting people from all corners of the globe. I was obviously there myself so I made a real effort to make new connections.
“One of the members of the MUN debate club mentioned there was a conference taking place at the end of the year in Paris and asked if I would be interested, which of course I was. I had to do an application around my interests and then it was all confirmed by August that I would be invited over as an international speaker to be part of the delegation team.”
You’ve also completed your own research while studying at GCU – tell me a bit about that?
“My research project at GCU was completed as part of the Carnegie Trust Vacation Scholarship. The project, “Assessing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) policies for Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Women in Scottish Universities: A comparative and intersectional analysis” complimented the work I’d been doing in Lille covering women’s rights, gender-based violence and international law.
“I applied for the project at the beginning of the year and it was a great experience because it’s basically designed for third year students interested in research, which was perfect for me. I’ve been really focused on research over the last couple of years, especially how gender-based violence impacts minority and ethnic women in Scotland. There is a clear lack of data out there overall and I really want to contribute towards that. Doing the Carnegie Trust Project during summer just before Paris was perfect because it let me combine two of my passions around eradicating violence against women and enhancing women’s rights.”
Where did your interest in international law come from?
“I was really interested in humanitarian crises when I was younger and was interested in who protects the global majority. That definitely led me to international law as a concept and from there I became more intrigued overall.
“One of the things I’m most passionate about is that every single women and young girl should have an education. My Turkish background means that I am the first person in my dad’s family to be allowed an education. I have aunts who were told it was better for them to stay in the house and do domestic chores rather than go to school. It’s something I’ve witnessed first-hand and there’s definitely been a lot of frustration for me growing up wondering why things are the way they are. It annoyed me that I could do certain things as a young women living in Scotland but my friend in Turkey would be facing a completely different set of challenges."
Tell me about the Young Leaders Union and how the experience has benefitted you?
“They host an annual conference focusing on certain sustainable development projects within the UN. There was a lot of focus this year on gender equality, so I really felt in a position to contribute through both my personal interest and research. There were lots of other people from different countries in a similar position to me that came from a law background and had an interest in politics as well.
“Being involved in the Young Leaders Union was just completely inspiring. The overall idea of the conference was to share our different experiences but also to absorb all the different information available to us from many different speakers. It was four days in total and we even had a cultural day where everyone was to wear their traditional clothing – I really regret not taking a kilt over!
“I keep saying that everything started in Lille and making that decision to step out of my comfort zone – it all followed on from there. I absolutely love my course at GCU and find Scots Law really interesting; but I’ve always known international law was the route I wanted to go down. Lille gave me the chance to actually experience international law in an international setting and helped put my mind at ease that this was the right path for me.”
Were there any particular highlights from the Young Leaders Union that stood out to you?
“As a women from a minority background whose research focuses on gender-based violence, I realise my work won’t always be met with the warmest of applause, but what stood out to me was the strength we have as women and that passion and drive to inspire others.
“There was a workshop on period poverty within Tanzania and they actually specifically mentioned the positive work done within Scotland. Hearing my country mentioned made me feel really proud. The overall theme throughout this and other presentations was that there is still so much work to be done. A lot of laws were created without women in mind - I want to play my part in making sure we have a voice.”
Did you get the chance to network while you were in Paris?
“That was definitely a really important part of the overall event – it’s all about making connections across the globe. I’m actually in the process of creating an educational hub to support young girls and women from minority ethnic backgrounds in Glasgow. It's an idea my team and I at Kısmet have been working on for a while. 2026 will be really exciting and I’m looking forward to using the connections I've made across the globe to develop the idea further.”
You’re obviously already thinking to the future, have you got any other particular career aspirations?
“I know I eventually want to go and work at the UN as a legal adviser and practice international law. I currently do a lot of work within the third sector and for now I really want to carry that on while I complete a Masters degree. I really want to gain work experience alongside that and get the chance to see what Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) work looks like on a global scale.”
What would you say to students about the importance of being proactive and taking opportunities when they come along?
“I think the most important thing is to be open-minded. Sometimes you see something and might think that you’re not directly interested in it, but you don’t know who you will meet when you go there and where conversations could lead. There was only one day planned around gender equality at the conference but it came up across so many other different conversations across the four days – so sometimes things work out differently when you actually take that step to attend these events that might be loosely connected to your interests.
“Definitely don’t limit your thinking in any way - you never know what direction new opportunities can take you. Lille and Paris helped me meet so many incredible people that I’m going to be able to work with throughout my career. Take every opportunity you can get because you can always put your own spin on it.”
Find out more about GCU’s LLB (Hons) Bachelor of Laws programme
By Ross Clark
Achieved something related to your course or in your personal life? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk