This blog post was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of UK in Turkey

5th April 2013

Brilliant students at Turkish universities

Resim2Part of my job is to meet current and future opinion-formers in Turkey; to learn from them; and to discuss with them the United Kingdom and our relationship with Turkey.

So I always hugely enjoy meeting and talking to the brilliant students who study at Turkish universities.

Today I visited Koç University, some way out to the north of Istanbul, to meet cross-cultural management CEMS students.  I talked a bit about my career in the Diplomatic Service (with a Powerpoint quiz) and answered questions.  The latter were great: everything from cross-cultural negotiation techniques, through the cultural identity of Turkey, to the future of Hong Kong after 2047.  I hope the students found it as interesting, and learned as much, as I did.

DSC02373Koç was the third Turkish top university I’ve visited to meet the students.  If any other universities would like me to speak to their students, drop me a line by Twitter: @leighturnerFCO.

About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

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