Thanks for taking out the time for reviewing this :)
I had gotten into the programme last year but I wasn't able to secure the scholarship. Would like to improve my application so I have a better chance this year!
Personal Statement
My roommate during my undergraduate years in India was from Addis Ababa. The very fact that he was able to study in India is a testament to how interconnected and accessible the world has become thanks to globalisation. The subtler - albeit more interesting - consequence is that we have enough common interests and beliefs to bond over despite our disparate life experiences. I'm interested in studying how globalisation shapes the world at large and believe that the GLOCAL programme addresses precisely that, besides providing a wide perspective on some of the most pressing economic issues in the world. Furthermore, being part of a learning community of like-minded individuals interested in addressing these issues provides me a unique opportunity for personal and professional growth. I am applying to the Global Political Economy track (Track F) since it is fitting not just for my interest in matters such as development and innovation, but also to my educational background in economics and experience in consulting and the social sector.
Economics fascinates me in its ability to describe a complex world of human relations where policies can have deep and far-reaching impacts. This fascination drew me to major in economics during my undergraduate studies at Ashoka University, a liberal arts university in India. Besides statistics, the core of my degree involved studying economic theories, principles, and histories. The potential to use these as tools to address socio-economic issues and improve lives remains both challenging and exciting. Many of my electives involved researching topics in the developmental sector in India, such as analysing how increasing awareness of simple cures could drastically reduce rates of fatal diarrhoea, or how caste and other sociological factors affect the provision of public goods to different households in rural India.
I believe that this background in economics puts me in good stead for the many courses I would take across both years of the programme. My strong foundations in macro and micro-economics will help me get the most out of core courses, such as The Globalised Economy and Sustainability of Financial Markets. Studying developmental economics in India, meanwhile, has me interested and equipped to study the socio-economic issues of other developing countries as well as learn how welfare policies are designed and implemented in more developed countries (through courses like Latin American Development and Sustainability of Welfare Policies).
My liberal arts programme also allowed me to explore a range of other subjects like political science, journalism, and mathematics. I graduated with a minor in philosophy and an award for the highest aggregate grades in the department. Philosophy taught me how to question my understanding of things while looking at them from different perspectives - a skill that will be invaluable while navigating the theoretical and practical aspects of the GLOCAL programme. More broadly, my liberal arts education helped me grasp the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to today's issues. This awareness makes me excited for many of the programme's strongly interdisciplinary courses, such as Global History of Marketing and Mass Consumption and Sustainable Design - Ecology, Culture and Human-Built Worlds.
Over and above my educational background, I also believe my work experience makes me well-suited for the GLOCAL programme. This is not only because my work thus far has been closely tied to issues of globalisation and economic policy, but also because it has given me valuable people and project management skills.
In 2019, I interned at a social sector consultancy where we raised funds for an NGO that worked with states to assess and improve management in government schools across India. My team studied their work across states and prepared a comprehensive report that was presented to potential donors. I was able to understand the nuances of the Indian education system - what worked, what didn't, and why something that worked in one state seemed to cause problems in another.
Since graduating in 2021, I have been working with Deloitte as an analyst in their global business services team. In the 7 months that I have been with the firm, I have worked on 2 official projects, assisted with hiring from my alma-mater, and also volunteered for CSR work. Through this work, I have had to collaborate with teams of varied nationalities - for one report I even had to interview hiring managers across 11 different cities. The project management skills gained at Deloitte will help me academically and professionally, while my experience working with people from around the world will equip me to live in three different countries and work alongside students from several times more.
Much of my other work and social engagements are also relevant to the programme. At college, I participated in a competition organised by Net-Impact, a global NGO that works on environmental causes. The task was to present an innovative solution to optimise supply chains in the cold storage industry in Sub-Saharan Africa. We borrowed from an architectural innovation local to the area, the design of which maintained optimal temperatures for a few local crops. Our team was awarded first place for presenting a business model that scaled up the use of these structures. As part of Deloitte's CSR, I helped create English audiobooks for skill development courses being conducted in rural India. And prior to that, I worked alongside my mother to establish an organic food store, during which we built a robust supply chain to source fresh local produce each week straight from farmers to our community.
A common takeaway through all these engagements was that innovation must be rooted in and derived from local experiences to have the most impact on sustainable economic development. This leads me to the idea for my thesis.
In this globalised world, developing countries increasingly look outward to understand what progress looks like, often causing them to mimic developed countries. I believe that this has the potential to misguide their outlook on development and growth. Countries should increase their focus on understanding local needs and invest in local cultures, ideas, and skills to drive innovation. For my thesis, I want to research case studies where countries have done this successfully. This will prove extremely insightful for people, such as myself, from developing countries where ideas of progress have to some extent been dictated externally. After graduating I hope to work in roles that would require designing or applying economic policy using the practical skills I gain through the GLOCAL programme. Social impact consultancies, policy think-tanks, and sustainability-based business development roles are career paths that I would seek.
On a final note, I am adventurous and always open to new experiences. I frequently try my hand at unfamiliar activities that seem interesting; for instance, when just a year ago I met a group of slack-liners while travelling, I decided to set up my own line at home. After some months of practice, I can now juggle three balls while slack-lining. So naturally, I'm excited by the thought of living in a variety of new cultures and meeting people from different backgrounds: experiences only a programme like GLOCAL can provide. I believe that I would be a good fit to GLOCAL and make valuable contributions to the experiences of others in the programme.
I had gotten into the programme last year but I wasn't able to secure the scholarship. Would like to improve my application so I have a better chance this year!
Personal Statement
My roommate during my undergraduate years in India was from Addis Ababa. The very fact that he was able to study in India is a testament to how interconnected and accessible the world has become thanks to globalisation. The subtler - albeit more interesting - consequence is that we have enough common interests and beliefs to bond over despite our disparate life experiences. I'm interested in studying how globalisation shapes the world at large and believe that the GLOCAL programme addresses precisely that, besides providing a wide perspective on some of the most pressing economic issues in the world. Furthermore, being part of a learning community of like-minded individuals interested in addressing these issues provides me a unique opportunity for personal and professional growth. I am applying to the Global Political Economy track (Track F) since it is fitting not just for my interest in matters such as development and innovation, but also to my educational background in economics and experience in consulting and the social sector.
Economics fascinates me in its ability to describe a complex world of human relations where policies can have deep and far-reaching impacts. This fascination drew me to major in economics during my undergraduate studies at Ashoka University, a liberal arts university in India. Besides statistics, the core of my degree involved studying economic theories, principles, and histories. The potential to use these as tools to address socio-economic issues and improve lives remains both challenging and exciting. Many of my electives involved researching topics in the developmental sector in India, such as analysing how increasing awareness of simple cures could drastically reduce rates of fatal diarrhoea, or how caste and other sociological factors affect the provision of public goods to different households in rural India.
I believe that this background in economics puts me in good stead for the many courses I would take across both years of the programme. My strong foundations in macro and micro-economics will help me get the most out of core courses, such as The Globalised Economy and Sustainability of Financial Markets. Studying developmental economics in India, meanwhile, has me interested and equipped to study the socio-economic issues of other developing countries as well as learn how welfare policies are designed and implemented in more developed countries (through courses like Latin American Development and Sustainability of Welfare Policies).
My liberal arts programme also allowed me to explore a range of other subjects like political science, journalism, and mathematics. I graduated with a minor in philosophy and an award for the highest aggregate grades in the department. Philosophy taught me how to question my understanding of things while looking at them from different perspectives - a skill that will be invaluable while navigating the theoretical and practical aspects of the GLOCAL programme. More broadly, my liberal arts education helped me grasp the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to today's issues. This awareness makes me excited for many of the programme's strongly interdisciplinary courses, such as Global History of Marketing and Mass Consumption and Sustainable Design - Ecology, Culture and Human-Built Worlds.
Over and above my educational background, I also believe my work experience makes me well-suited for the GLOCAL programme. This is not only because my work thus far has been closely tied to issues of globalisation and economic policy, but also because it has given me valuable people and project management skills.
In 2019, I interned at a social sector consultancy where we raised funds for an NGO that worked with states to assess and improve management in government schools across India. My team studied their work across states and prepared a comprehensive report that was presented to potential donors. I was able to understand the nuances of the Indian education system - what worked, what didn't, and why something that worked in one state seemed to cause problems in another.
Since graduating in 2021, I have been working with Deloitte as an analyst in their global business services team. In the 7 months that I have been with the firm, I have worked on 2 official projects, assisted with hiring from my alma-mater, and also volunteered for CSR work. Through this work, I have had to collaborate with teams of varied nationalities - for one report I even had to interview hiring managers across 11 different cities. The project management skills gained at Deloitte will help me academically and professionally, while my experience working with people from around the world will equip me to live in three different countries and work alongside students from several times more.
Much of my other work and social engagements are also relevant to the programme. At college, I participated in a competition organised by Net-Impact, a global NGO that works on environmental causes. The task was to present an innovative solution to optimise supply chains in the cold storage industry in Sub-Saharan Africa. We borrowed from an architectural innovation local to the area, the design of which maintained optimal temperatures for a few local crops. Our team was awarded first place for presenting a business model that scaled up the use of these structures. As part of Deloitte's CSR, I helped create English audiobooks for skill development courses being conducted in rural India. And prior to that, I worked alongside my mother to establish an organic food store, during which we built a robust supply chain to source fresh local produce each week straight from farmers to our community.
A common takeaway through all these engagements was that innovation must be rooted in and derived from local experiences to have the most impact on sustainable economic development. This leads me to the idea for my thesis.
In this globalised world, developing countries increasingly look outward to understand what progress looks like, often causing them to mimic developed countries. I believe that this has the potential to misguide their outlook on development and growth. Countries should increase their focus on understanding local needs and invest in local cultures, ideas, and skills to drive innovation. For my thesis, I want to research case studies where countries have done this successfully. This will prove extremely insightful for people, such as myself, from developing countries where ideas of progress have to some extent been dictated externally. After graduating I hope to work in roles that would require designing or applying economic policy using the practical skills I gain through the GLOCAL programme. Social impact consultancies, policy think-tanks, and sustainability-based business development roles are career paths that I would seek.
On a final note, I am adventurous and always open to new experiences. I frequently try my hand at unfamiliar activities that seem interesting; for instance, when just a year ago I met a group of slack-liners while travelling, I decided to set up my own line at home. After some months of practice, I can now juggle three balls while slack-lining. So naturally, I'm excited by the thought of living in a variety of new cultures and meeting people from different backgrounds: experiences only a programme like GLOCAL can provide. I believe that I would be a good fit to GLOCAL and make valuable contributions to the experiences of others in the programme.