Chevening - Three British Universities Course choice

Hello all,
Please share your thoughts on my essay for the Chevening Scholarship. Thanks!

the choice between two London Schools and The University of Edinburgh

Prompt: 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)

As a public health researcher, I worked on multiple projects with an orientation on health systems and policy. With a background in clinical medicine and then in epidemiology I found myself supplementing my knowledge through self-learning and asking a lot of questions. The components of health systems have much to do with governance, human, resource, and financing than just epidemiology of diseases. I believe a formal training on these aspects would enhance my knowledge and skill to work more effectively in this field.

The MSc in Health Policy, Planning, and Finance at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is a joint program with the London School of Economy and Political Science. This will be an extraordinary opportunity for me to learn from two top-notch universities recognized worldwide. I can build a strong foundation on processes, policy actors and their agenda, and factors affecting contemporary and historical policy-making through the Health Policy, Process, and Power course. Some courses tailored to highlight developing country cases such as Health Systems and Policies in Developing Countries and Economic Analysis for Health Policy in Low-and Middle-Income Countries will be extremely helpful for me to evaluate health systems and policies in these countries and conduct economic analysis to appraise different models of revenue collection and pooling and compare different outcomes in terms of equity and efficiency.

At the University of Edinburgh, the MSc in Health Policy offers a strong focus on governance. I will learn to apply human rights principles to change government policy through international legal instruments in the Health and Human Rights module. Health is no longer shaped by manmade geographical boundaries and is subjected to influence by international agenda and policies. The Global Politics of Public Health module will equip me to address the challenges to promoting policy coherence across global health, development and trade agenda and take into consideration the increasing significance of the commercial sector and civil society in global health policy in my work.

In working with the urban poor I have learnt that inequalities health can arise from multiple sources including behavioural/cultural, psychosocial, and material. Health has many non-health determinants yet not weighed upon in Bangladesh's national health policy which lacks multi-sectoral strategies. In the MSc International Health Policy programme at London School of Economics & Political Science I will have a better understanding of the role of government and impact of economic, social and health policy in creating or reducing inequalities thereby apply the knowledge to assess policy interventions through an equity lens for vulnerable populations.

Bangladesh has just transitioned to a lower-middle income country which is accompanied by drastic changes in foreign aid and national budget reforms. This is an opportune moment for national policymakers to take stock of past learning from national, regional, and international history and re-engineer the health sector through identifying diverse sustained financing mechanisms to achieve universal health coverage and reduce health inequity and burden. As such, there is a potential role for me to contribute at this juncture of revised health policy formulation through proper training and exposure to the cog-wheels of the field.

@RU_IS
The last paragraph I believe you should review, in this essay, talk only about your choices of universities, and how they are related to your current study or job. Your career plan should not be spelled out here.

Bithy, you are not answering the "why" in the "Why did you choose this course?" You are offering hypothetical explanations instead of real world implementations for your course choices. You are explaining what the courses are about and what the subjects are, but you are not explaining how you plan to actually use these knowledge in your future career. Additionally, you do not have any academic qualifications indicated to support any belief that you would be an excellent student in this course who will be able to accomplish something in the future based on your academic and professional experiences in relation to the chosen course. Think of your responses in this manner:

1. Why is this course relevant to my current career?
2. What skills do I hope to develop?
3. What is the future application of this course in my career?

Be more definite by describing an example of how you will implement your knowledge on the job. Go beyond references to assessments, challenges, and policy coherence. To accomplish this, present a simple study plan and refer it to an actual practice in your line of work that you hope to implement or improve upon.

Don't just tell the reviewer about the courses involved and what it can teach you. That will not be useful in as much as it doesn't indicate how the course can help you develop the future aspects of your career. You must clearly define the responses to the 3 questions in reference to each university course you have chosen.

@lany83
Thanks. I have re-written the essay and would appreciate your input.
@Holt
Thanks for the outline. I have re-written the essay following your cues. Hope to get your feedback on it.

My intention is to work as a health policy analyst and advocate to strengthen the health system in Bangladesh. The course choices I have made are rooted in this aspiration.

During my work at the Health Systems division of icddr,b I have learnt that policy makers have to work with components of management including governance, human resource, and financing. My previous academic training in Epidemiology had a focus mainly on epidemiological methods. So, to learn more about policy making I had participated in a workshop on Health Policy Analysis by UCL. I want to build more in-depth knowledge in this field through the MSc in Health Policy, Planning, and Finance at the LSHTM. Bangladesh has just transitioned to a lower-middle income country which is accompanied by drastic changes in foreign aid and national budget reforms. As a health policy analyst and advocate, I can identify diverse sustained financing mechanisms to achieve universal health coverage and reduce health inequity and financial burden. This course is my first choice because it is a joint program with LSE providing me an extraordinary opportunity for me to learn from two top-notch universities recognized worldwide and establish my network in.

My research work on documenting the evolution of urban primary healthcare in Bangladesh revealed that one of the reasons behind its faltering progress was the disconnect between the transformative agenda of the donors and the governance capacities of the local urban bodies. The MSc in Health Policy at the University of Edinburgh offers a strong focus on governance will equip me to address the challenges to promoting policy coherence across global health, development and trade agenda and take into consideration the increasing significance of the commercial sector and civil society in global health policy. This is highly relevant in Bangladesh where the private health sector is rapidly growing and lacks proper regulation from the Ministry of Health. I can use my knowledge to develop policies that incorporate the private health sector in a way that compliments the public health system without raising the cost of health services.

In working with the urban poor and their healthcare-seeking behavior I have learnt that inequalities in health can arise from multiple sources including behavioural, cultural, psychosocial, and material. In the MSc International Health Policy programme at London School of Economics & Political Science I will have a better understanding of the role of government and the impact of economic, social and health policy in reducing inequalities. This will help in my work as health policy analyst to assess policy interventions through an equity lens for vulnerable populations and address the non-health determinants of health and design a multi-sectoral approach to provide more affordable and accessible care to the urban poor.

UK-Bangladesh relationship focuses on health development among other development indicators. Through my career in health policy and analysis I can support the formulation and implementation of health policies that are need-based and context oriented to pave the path toward Universal Health coverage in Bangladesh.

Blithy, please change the presentation of the discussion to outline your course choice first, the university name second, and the explanation third. Each university gets one paragraph. You need to save the reviewer's time by presenting the necessary information first and the explanation last. It helps him to immediately focus on the required information instead of having to dissect each paragraph before getting to the point.

Since you went over the maximum word count by 4 words, you will need to shorten your introduction paragraph and the second paragraph of your presentation. In fact, you should revise all of the essay so you can present the discussion in a 5 paragraph format which is perfect for the 500 word maximum requirement. Right now your essay is too wordy without really hitting the mark in an interesting manner. Focus on providing only the required information immediately. Don't waste words.

I look forward to reviewing your next version when you are done with the revisions.

Hi @RU_IS i think you should carry some explanation from your background why you choose three different courses before you describe one by one of the courses. maybe it will make your essay more systematic so it help the reviewer to know what your purpose for pursuing master degree.:)