The Ministry of Finance - STUDY OBJECTIVE FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

study/research objectives, and reasons for wanting to pursue them

"Write a clear and detailed description of your study/research objectives, and give your reasons for wanting to pursue them․ Be specific about your major field and your specialized interests within this field․ Describe the kind of program you expect to undertake, and explain how your study plan fits in with your previous training and your future objectives"

Despite being dependent on the Petroleum sector, our government has been encouraging the development of private sectors across non-petroleum sectors like agriculture, tourism, fisheries, and commerce to create more job opportunities and income for the people, therefore, guaranteeing the sustainability of the economic development. Economic policy and business strategy have been set to underpin the private sector development. However, many private sectors, especially those are in remotes areas, still face several challenges that impede them to grow. One of the challenges is the legal aspect impacting the business organization.

During working at the Treasury, I understood that, besides financial difficulty, several common legal aspects are affecting private business and investment environment including contract enforcement, employment issue, land and property registration, and dispute resolution.

Given all these contexts, I am motivated to undertake a Master of Law majoring in Business Law. The Master of Business Law is an academic program that helps the students to gain improved skills and knowledge of the laws regulating business and commercial activities and how the students interpret the legal aspect of the business environment. Unlike other general laws study program, business law study helps the students for a market-oriented perspective, which means that business law students learn and study how to involve in the practical legal aspect of the businesses and how to help business entities to achieve their goals in a way that is legally efficient and effective. I want to develop my understanding of all legal aspects that impact business and commercial activities and rules and regulations to establish business such as company, partnerships, cooperative, and sole proprietorship. In my study, there are three areas that I would like to focus on. These are legal essentials for business, employment law, and contract law.

My previous education provides me with a basic knowledge of law for business and commercial activities. In 2014, I was awarded a scholarship from the Ministry of Finance to undertake a Bachelor Degree in Commerce majoring in Accounting and Finance at Flinders University in South Australia. While studying accounting and finance subjects, I also studied Business Law, Corporate Law, and Taxation law topics as a part of the core subjects of the degree. I learned the legal system in Australia and the fundamental concept of business law, including laws that contribute to a sound business environment like contract law, business structure, competition, and consumer law, property law, and Intellectual property law.

Working at the Treasury has allowed me to understand the current business regulatory environment and government/corporate activities in Timor Leste. After graduating in 2018, I started working at the Ministry of Finance at the General Directorate of Treasury as a Loan Disbursement and Payment Monitoring Officer. One of my current responsibilities is to review the legality of documents and disbursement requests of the large infrastructure projects in Timor Leste before making the payments and monitor and evaluate the Treasury Payment activities for salary and wages, goods and services, minor capital, capital development, and public transfer. I assisted the Treasury in reviewing government contracts for capital investment, international transactions agreement, social security policy, employee payroll and benefits, and the government subsidies for public companies and small businesses. I have also dealt with several non-government agencies providing loan financing to the Government of Timor Leste, such as the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). After almost three years working at the Treasury, I understood that my current responsibilities at the Treasury require a person with an improved understanding of the law regulating business and commercial activities to address the legal issues arising in today's government interactions with business, have a deep knowledge of rules and regulations that govern the relationship between human capital and government /corporate activities.

This study, together with my previous education and working experience in the accounting field, will contribute a lot to my future careers at the Ministry of Finance at the General Directorate of Treasury and other development sectors. In the short-term career plan, after graduating, I would like to return to the Treasury to continue work in my current position as it requires a person with an improved understanding of business law. I want to help the Treasury in legal aspects related to the government capital investment, formation of the government contract, government-corporate activities, and international business transaction. I want to support the Ministry of Finance across a range of business and industry policies to encourage higher productivity in public and private sectors including competition policy, dispute resolution service, foreign investment policy, and employment law. In the medium-term career plan, I want to work with the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce, and Industry to support the development of private sectors in Timor Leste, especially micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). These businesses still find difficult in structuring their organization and establishing rules and regulation business activities including for contract, employment, and trademarks. I want to help them how to start a business, choose the right structure for business, design an appropriate employment policy, and formation of business contract.

In the long-term career plan, I want to contribute to educational development by lecturing in Accounting and Business Law at Public Universities in Timor Leste. Post-Master's I hope to pursue my Doctoral Studies in Accounting and Business Law.

I believe that the academic excellence, expertise, professionals, and outstanding curriculum of the Universities in the United States will help me succeed in my purposed study. Therefore, studying in the United States is an excellent opportunity that I have been dreaming to have. Several social enrichment programs provided by the Fulbright Scholarship Program will also help me improve my leadership capacity and social.

Your study/research objective is limited to your local career path alone. As a Fulbright scholar, your main objective should be to engage in research that, while assisting your local career, will show that your interests have international notability and usage. That is clearly lacking in this presentation. The presentation, overall, shows that you are an average student, with average/local ambitions. Without any notable accomplishments even as you worked with international organizations, just mentioning the organizations will not help your application. Since you failed to achieve anything of note during those times the work relationship lacks importance in reference to your time partnering with them. Fulbright scholars need to have standout credentials since the acceptance rate for international students is only 20 % of all international applicants. In the cut-throat application and consideration process for the most prestigious international scholarship, I am afraid these references might be too simple to make you a memorable candidate.