Scholarship / Studying in UK Essay: why I chose Development Finance [4]

hi, i am really confused for explaining the three university because honestly i just choose the university that offer the course of Development Finance (there are not many). i wonder whether explaining the ranking would be unneccessary

STUDYING IN THE UK QUESTION

Outline why you have selected your chosen three university courses, and explain how this relates to your previous academic or professional experience and your plans for the future.

*Please do not duplicate the information you have entered on the work experience and education section of this form (minimum word count: 100 words, maximum word count: 500 words)

Prior to my application, I have done two jobs as a research fellow in both the Central Bank of Indonesia and at the Financial Service Authority in Indonesia. As a researcher, I discovered that a bachelor degree is not enough to secure a position to decide on the framework thinking and concept design for either the research objective or public policymaking. It stops with handling data. Even though I greatly appreciate the opportunity given, I believe that continuing study, especially in a more focused field, will greatly benefit me and the future researches I will write.

My research interest came from my own observations and several previous researches where I found that the poor, or generally any human being, might act irrationally for matters that concern on money. During periods of emergency, people might agree to unfair agreement because the need for money were too tight. I got the chance to observe this during my social act project to one fishing village in West Java. The fishermen are poor but sure they need money, so they take the closest solutions at hand: loan sharks. I believe that the lack of proper financial literacy and inclusion were hindering Indonesia's development. For those reasons, I chose Development Finance for my major in graduate study.

The course of Development Finance revolves on many important issues of development, such as poverty, inequality and the public sector. Based on my own experiences working in the field of policymaker, the study on development finance is a very large field with only few parts sufficiently explored and the remaining huge parts are waiting for breakthrough innovations. Indonesia is a unique country with certain characteristics that needs specially-designed policies, a real challenge, so I strive for the best place to study on maximizing the financial sector for development. There are not many universities offering Development Finance as a major. Development Finance itself focuses on the role of financial sector for accelerating growth. With careful research, I found the best three universities to study on the course: University of Manchester, University of Reading and SOAS University of London. I have re-read their syllabus plenty of times and I finally conclude that the learning program is exactly as I wish to study. University of Manchester put more optional courses concerning on development economics while University of Reading and SOAS University of London give more optional courses for exploring the financial market, but either one offers a wide range of development economics courses. Ranking-wise, all three are highly ranked in QS World University Ranking 2017 by the subject of Development Studies with University of Manchester at 7th place, SOAS at the 11th place, and University of Reading at the 42th place. I have received my unconditional offer from University of Manchester and accepted it.

Scholarship / Chevening essay: Career plan in development finance, the role of financial sector for development [4]

Hi, i need help for my career plan essay for Chevening scholarship application. thank you :)

CAREER PLAN QUESTION

Chevening is looking for individuals who have a clear post-study career plan. Please outline your immediate plans upon returning home and your longer term career goals. You may wish to consider how these relate to what the UK government is doing in your country. (minimum word count: 100 words, maximum word count: 500 words)

Long-term plan
After studying in the United Kingdom, I plan to use my obtained knowledge in the field I have been working at the least few years which focus on maximizing the role of financial sectors for development. Focusing in monetary and financial economics, I hope that my experiences in both the Central Bank of Indonesia and the Financial Services Authority might help my way to become a permanent worker there with slowly building my way to the top policymaker. Even if I could not do it, I plan to continue my career as a researcher whether in governmental agencies, consulting, Non-Profit Organization (NGO) or at the Research Centre in my former University of Indonesia.

I also want to continue my study to a PhD degree and become a lecturer in my alumni, University of Indonesia. I saw that Development Finance is a very practical thing that the government put special attentions into, yet the science itself is still under-learned in the university. Currently, the science of Development Finance is divided into its two major components: Development Economics and Public Finance or the Monetary and Financial Economics. However, I believe that it should be studied as an integrated part and so I want to take that role as the lecturer.

In addition to that, I want to execute my idea of financial technology start-up designed for fishermen. I still could not accept the fact that a very wide archipelago country like Indonesia is falling behind in marine products industry. Along with my teammates, I had an idea of financial technology startup for fishermen and submitted the project to several competitions. In one competition, one angel investor from Japan was interested in the idea. She was interested because in Japan the fishermen are wealthier than Indonesia's and it happens because both people and government initiate the changes, supported by fishermen cooperatives. In Indonesia where most people fall at low income class, Micro Financial Institution (MFI) has a serious role. I saw few startups were already executing the idea of fintech for fishermen and failed, mostly because of inability to create a win-win solution to the fishermen and the loan sharks (to eliminate them, gently). I want to learn from their mistakes and mitigate the risks I know is going to come. Even if not as the executor, at least as the regulator.

Short-term plan
Additionally, I want to give back to the communities around me. Mainly because of financial limitation, most students in Indonesia could not go afford formal education, let alone studying abroad. I want to show that studying abroad is not a foolish dream if accompanied by the correct financial strategy - even if there is not enough fund available. Being financially literate means opening doors to more possibilities. I believe that both my job and my personal motivation to influence people is in the same pathway.

Scholarship / Chevening Essay: Networking Skill for an Introvert Person [3]

hi, i need help for my networrking essay for applying chevening scholarship :) thank you

NETWORKING QUESTION

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.

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

I am aware of my strengths and weaknesses for networking, one of them being an introvert. However, I would not let that be my weakness but to make the utmost benefit from the challenge given. My father is a politician and he always stressed out the importance of networking and I have followed his advice ever since. I dragged myself into joining various communities and activities rather than just laying around in my comfort zone. During college, I made myself to join various event committees with a wide range of field, from academic, research, education, social, arts and culture to a political one. I joined a religious student body, I practiced as a Color Guard in the University's Marching Band, became a Volunteer Teacher in my faculty's organization to teach homeless children in Depok for preparing university exam entrance, I constantly engage myself in Marketing Plan where I took the chance to work together with student from different faculty), and more. It was exhausting, but I knew that I tend to appear awkward and shy in front of new people so I understood that I should give extra efforts to know more people.

I know that practice makes perfect and that the easiest way to really engage with people is to work together with them, both professionally and voluntarily. I had made myself to go during a one-year exchange student period to Seoul, South Korea, where I was given the opportunity to broaden my network into a global one. Meeting various international students from many countries helped me to realize that any different human might not be that different at all. Back then I expected to see some major differences, because of the culture and lifestyle and all, but basically any human being has similar way to think and to feel. The difference lies in the contents within our mind and heart, but the way human think turned out to be not much different. I also volunteered in some Korean cultural events as international volunteer and indulge myself in their culture for better understanding.

Before I went to Korea, I made a promise to myself that I will share my stories to motivate more people who thought that going abroad is merely a dream. Therefore, I was so excited when I saw the opportunity to publish my story in an anthology book called "Abroad You(th)" which is indie-published, consisting of 25 different stories and different countries of Indonesian students going abroad whether by full-time study, exchange student, conference and competition. We were gathered by the initiator and it helped me a lot to know various youth forums for students who aim to reach their dream goals. When I came back to Indonesia, I also had the chance to join on several start-up forums with millennials aiming to build their own start-ups for solving real problems in the country. I was truly amazed with many communities there and I plan to keep broadening the network in my chosen preferred fields.

Scholarship / I became the vice-coordinator of human resources division of Social Act; leadership experiences [2]

Hi, I'm writing this essay for Chevening Scholarship application. The deadline is close by. I would greatly appreciate your reviews :)

LEADERSHIP & INFLUENCE QUESTION

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)

My most memorable leadership experience was when I became the vice-coordinator of human resources division of Social Act, a community work in the rural area for 700 freshmen of the faculty for a few days in 2014. My project officer wanted us to go to a fishing village for the first time after three consecutive years visiting farming villages. The idea was frowned upon, as we have surveyed some nearby fishing villages and saw that those villages were extremely dirty, with human feces on the sand, barely any sanitation facility, lack of clean waters, and the goats ate plastic wastes.

We almost gave up, but the urges to really show the condition of fishing villages remained strong. I persisted for a fishing village. I went to the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries asking for advices on choosing the village. They were, surprisingly, delighted and concluded that cooperation might be possible as it they have projects to do there but they lack the human resources. They gave us the database of potential fishing villages and told us to come back later after we decided.

We went on a survey to Pelabuhan Ratu district on a deep heavy traffic. After five hours passed, we were still halfway there. We almost gave up but I persisted that it would be such a waste if we went back. "at least let's just visit the beach and then we are free to go back," I remembered pleading.

Fortunately, the village there had sufficient clean water, even though the beach was still dirty and there were still many human feces on the beaches sand; and the goats still ate plastic wastes. Well, clean and sufficient water was just enough.

But it was not enough yet for our other teammates, and more surveys were required before they could approve. Being a girl who could drive a car among limited potential drivers I ended up having to drive there from Depok to Pelabuhan Ratu all by myself. With eight passengers, traffic jam and bulky roads right at the side of a cliff. We arrived at the cliffside during sunset. I panicked as it would be more dangerous in the dark: what if I could not see the sides of the roads? Deviate slightly and fall over the cliff it is. I was in hurry and then my wheel tires broke. The boys in the car did not understanding anything about car so they just remained silent watching my despair.

Still I kept on my belief to choose that village. After several surveys and after-class night meetings later, the others eventually agreed to go there after going through deep problem mitigations. It became the first Social Act of Faculty of Economics and Business University of Indonesia to go to a fishing village, got awarded for Indonesian World Records as a social work learning for freshmen with a highest number of participants, and the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries were happy with our executed cooperation.