Hi guys, I am applying for the Erasmus Mundus scholarship, waiting for your feedbacks.
Supporting Personal Statement
Personal statement:
Please be as precise as you can when writing your Supporting Personal Statement. Do not repeat yourself and do not exceed the word limit (1,200 words). You should make sure that you address the following issues in your personal statement:
Globalization is the spread of products, technology, information, and jobs across national borders and cultures. In economic terms, it describes an interdependence of nations around the globe fostered through free trade. The aim of globalization is to benefit individual economies around the world by making markets more efficient. However, it also brings a myriad of challenges to local industries in developing economies such as Africa.
I am applying for the Global market and Development pathway (Track B). Currently, I have recently completed an internship at Flexiroam, a telecommunication company providing affordable data roaming services to travelers, I was working in the Human Resources Department and I was involved in the recruitment process of internship candidates. In addition, i took part to numerous career fairs, my role was to introduce students to our various internship and full time opportunities and advise them on which position will best suit them based on their educational background and experience.
As I am heading towards the completion of my bachelor degree, I plan to further my studies by doing a master degree that relates to my business background. I choose Glocal because the program takes places in various countries, there is an opportunity to learn new languages and enhance my intercultural communication skills. In addition, the interdisciplinary nature of the program will provide me with an integrated approach to address recent challenges pertaining to economy, development, local industries, entrepreneurship, creative cities. The program develops my previous study in providing me with knowledge, tools and critical skills to better understand and interpret the economic implication of globalization at the national an international level.
I think I am a good candidate for the program because my business background has provided me with skills for analyzing the fundamental principles and logic that spur the process of globalization, and its consequences for markets, corporations and consumers. During my undergraduate, I completed a wide range of subjects such as International Business, Economics, Business Creativity and Innovation, Entrepreneurship, these courses helped me understand how the different actors involved in the globalization such as local firms and entrepreneurs shape the economic development, they laid the foundation to better cope with subjects such as Globalized Economy, Companies in Emerging Markets, Development Economic. In my International Business class, I worked on a research project titled "The impact of the OBOR project on developing nations", it discussed the implication of the One Belt One Road project on developing countries, notably Pakistan as the country is at the heart of the project, my findings revealed that Pakistan would be fully subjugated by China. In my economics classes, I used the law of supply and demand theory to understand how demand and supply can affect price of goods and how it can be deleterious for the Malaysian economy if not effectively managed. My business background has provided me with sufficient knowledge to approach some of the offered course with confidence.
The major challenges faced by developing countries due to globalization is the increased competition, multinational companies dominate local industries at the expenses of local firms and entrepreneurs. They may not be unable to compete unless they rapidly adapt; this puts a question mark on the sustainability of local companies.
Africa is the only region in the world where youth population is increasing, those aged between 0 to 24 years old will increase by nearly 50% by 2050. To absorb the large and young population coming to working age, governments needs to collectively create eighteen million jobs each year. This statistic urges African governments to work towards employment and education to avoid seeing its youth fall in a poverty trap.
Creative economy generates $2.25 trillion of revenue and employs 29.5 million people worldwide. Africa's presence in global markets for creative goods and services has been stagnated by its limited supply capacity, obsolete policies and under investment in the industry, particularly in infrastructure. To tackle these challenges and create more jobs for youth, African leaders should promote creative economy by integrating it in their development plans, invest in infrastructure development and nurture their talents to create a conducive ecosystem that provides local businesses room for growth.
Setting up business accelerator and incubator programs will help local businesses either in their earlier or a more advanced stages to have access to mentorship, investors, training programs, logistical and technical resources and foster entrepreneurial activities. This will lay down the foundation to efficient local businesses that can sustain themselves, provide jobs to the population and compete globally.
My dissertation will discuss creative industry in developing countries, particularly Africa. It will focus on the benefits that can be gained by investing in creative sectors as well as the economic and sociocultural impact of creative industries on Africa. There is a huge potential for growth, globalization has accelerated cultural interaction among countries, the export of creative goods has increased by about 12% per annum in the developing world in the last 15 years. In addition, youth population is hungry for creative industry goods, but the lack of investment and support from governments is a real issue. In Africa, creative industry is too often overlooked as a legitimate avenue for jobs and economic growth. In fact, the continent accounts for a mere 3% of total revenue and 8% of total creative jobs. Instead, a stronger focus is put on traditional industry such as agriculture. For instance, the Agriculture Fast Track Fund (AFT) amounts to US 23 million, if a fraction of this budget could be diverted towards creative industry, the effects will lead to long term changes in curbing poverty and unemployment. Courses discussing Creative Cities, Development Economics, Companies in Emerging Sectors will provide guidance for my dissertation.
Upon completing my masters, I aim return to my home country Cameroon and create a start up incubator that promotes youth entrepreneurship and sustainable jobs in the city of Douala, using the knowledge gained during the program. Douala is the most populous and developed city of Cameroon and has the potential to become the next entrepreneurial, unfortunately most start - ups fail within the first years of operation due to the lack of infrastructure and support. The company will bring together individuals with creative and innovative business ideas into a conducive environment and providing them with the necessary support to transform their ideas into successful enterprises that can prosper locally and internationally; in the subsequent years of operation, the company will also provide financial support by securing equity investment for start - ups with the highest potential and partnering out with banks and other financial institutions to provide loans to start ups. This initiative would be a small but crucial step towards the development of Douala as an entrepreneurial city, it will propel the creation of innovative companies which will in turn push up the economy and provide sustainable jobs to the local population.
The opportunity to study in a consortium of highly respected universities in Europe is a privilege considering their academic reputation. I look forward to an experience which will enable me to enhance my knowledge in European culture and globalization.
I sincerely hope the admission committee will find my profile well suited for this life - changing opportunity.