Scholarship / Chevening networking skills essay, give and sit back, the outcome will come [3]

"Chevening is looking for individuals with strong networking skills, who will engage with the Chevening community and influence and lead others in their chosen profession. Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your networking skills, and outline how you hope to use these skills in the future."

Having a strong Network is essential in Sudan

Having a strong Network is essential in Sudan. And that's because almost all professional and business interactions are completed and mediated through social and business networks, employers choose employees that they personally know and approve of, or if they were recommended by a trusted acquaintance. I think the best way to form a network of genuine people that will last long is by being genuinely there for others, showing real interest in their work and offering help when needed.

Currently, I work as a part-timer in the University of Khartoum; I teach practical courses in the department of zoology. Being a part-timer, I usually have more time at hand than full-timers, I often help with teaching materials and covering in teaching lab sessions for colleagues when they need it. My university network has helped me a lot by providing me with info about job openings (almost all the courses I taught there were provided by my network), workshops available (For example, getting a spot in the Introduction to bioinformatics, and R statistics workshops in two different universities with a generous discount), conferences (Graduate studies conference in 2011), and other activities that I can participate in and benefit of.

A short time ago after I finished my M.Sc. course I was interested in doing research in a psychology-related topic. I was actively participating in events like "let's talk Sudan" initiative in the world health day, that was about depression and how to reduce stigma, as well as other psychology-related events such as Psychometric measurements workshop, Cognitive behavioral therapy workshop, mental health and depression forum, and online courses in related subjects. I actively participated in these events to meet with professionals in that field and engage in discussions about current hot topics, and then talk about my activities in other communities that are interested in the field like mental health association. Now, and thanks to my network I was offered an opportunity to work on a research project on the genetics of depression in national university research center, as well as helping me with designing and sharing my pre-research survey, which had more than 1 thousand participants and still counting.

Being good at English and Arabic, I help my colleagues and acquaintances in translating reports and other formal documents. Knowing my translating abilities and my love for art, an acquaintance who works as a professional translator in Geal Gaded magazine offered me to be responsible for the translation of the articles in modern art section in the magazine.

Finally, I'll be more than happy to offer my personal services with the help of my network to the upcoming Chevening scholars.

I really appreciate ur help!

Scholarship / Chevening leadership and influence essay - the wave effect! [4]

"Chevening is looking for individuals who will be future leaders or influencers in their home countries. Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your own leadership and influencing skills to support your answer.

(minimum word count: 100 words, maximum word count: 500 words)"

I really appreciate ur help guyz!

"leadership", "influence" and a boat in the ocean

Whenever I come across the words "leadership" and "influence", a song pops in my mind: "Like a small boat in an ocean, sending big waves into motion". For me those lyrics define the real nature of leadership and influence: one person with a goal and a good plan (the boat), with the help of so many people (the small wave closer to the boat getting wider and wider away), can produce a global effect just like the huge wave that reaches the shore.

The leader within me, who was in hibernation, was brought back to life two years ago. The trigger was my older brother - the role model of the boys of my big family and the apple of my parents' eyes - becoming mentally ill. It was very obvious that he was not being himself, but his "ideal nature" excluded every possibility of us thinking that he could be mentally ill. My parents, so sure of their boy's "perfection" were in denial, and they dwelled in it for too long that my brother's illness evolved into a very severe stage. During that period I was fighting my own denial of my brother's illness, and then denial of my parent's response to the matter; them being educated and open-minded people, and still thinking that an "evil eye" has struck him. The whole situation reflects the level of awareness and the belief system of our society when it comes to mental illness.

As a result, I started educating myself on human behavior. I joined online psychology courses and read so many books, articles, and professional websites. It took me a whole year to convince my folks to get medical help for my brother. But after that, their beliefs had slightly changed.

Six months ago I took part in an initiative called "let's talk Sudan", which is an initiative hosted by the Standing Committee of Public Health in collaboration with the WHO and the Federal Ministry of Health on world health day with the theme being "DEPRESSION". I was one of the ambassadors chosen to attend the following educational workshops that gave us an overview of the concept of mental health, mental illness, how to guide mentally ill people, and how to educate our communities on mental health to reduce stigma. With the tools I gained from that program I began my journey. Now, five of my friends and relatives are seeing a professional regularly. They are speaking of the matter to their communities, my parents are guiding other parents with mentally ill children, and so many other people with mentally ill relatives reach out to me for guidance. All that effect in only five months and this is the result of proper education and guidance.

What has been done so far is still a drop in the ocean, the stigma is still there, and people listen when the speaker is a professional. With the knowledge, guidance, and experiences gained from a Chevening scholarship, a lot more can be done.