This is my scholarship essay for the government-funded program in my country, I'd kindly ask for your help to review and give feedback to this essay as I want to modify this for another scholarship since the other program has similar objectives with this one.
Another one for context, this scholarship essay's limit is 2000 words.
Thank you!
SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY
A Prolonged Journey for A Genuine Passion
Marketing has never been a fresh concept in my life, but igniting my enthusiasm for it was a lengthy journey. I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, in which the conviction of a thriving life is synonymous with being a business owner, and the preliminary insight into marketing was ingrained in me even before I discovered "marketing" as a term. Formally, it was the international program at my high school that exposed me to the fundamentals of business, which included a pivotal focus on marketing. It is firmly imprinted in my memory that the "marketing mix" was the starting point of my marketing education, serving as a foundational framework for developing winning strategies for products or businesses. Nevertheless, that was not the first exposure that sparked my interest in marketing as I decided to pursue my undergraduate studies majoring in International Relations at Universitas Brawijaya.
International relations provided me with a comprehensive understanding of global politics, an area that was once foreign to me. Its interdisciplinary nature spans multiple fields, including business and economics, through a political lens. While international relations discourse does not officially incorporate marketing in terms of theories and industry practices, my interest in marketing sparked through participation in extracurricular activities. One notable experience was during my membership in AIESEC at Universitas Brawijaya. I actively contributed to a social project aligned with the fifth SDG by promoting and organising the 'Women 4.0' workshop to extend gender issues literacy to women in Malang. As a result, my team and I successfully engaged 50+ women participants and several women empowerment communities in discussion and sharing sessions. This marked my first step into the surface of marketing practice while discovering my passion for advocating social issues.
In addition, I embarked on a journey of professional growth through the Kampus Merdeka internship program, which led me to secure an internship at Campaign.com in the marketing department. It is a social startup that connects people, social communities, donors, and sponsors through digital social movements within its app. In my role, I advertised the company through online initiatives to attract communities, providing them with funding opportunities and a platform to endorse their focus issues. Over the course of my 5-month internship, I managed to connect with 140 communities and brought 35% of them on board with Campaign.com. This experience played a pivotal role in finalizing my decision to pursue a career in marketing and ultimately landed me a full-time job as a marketer in my current company.
Holding international relations as my background and practical experiences in marketing led me to observe their significant associations. Amid the economic downturn brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, President Joko Widodo urged Indonesian diplomats and ambassadors to equip themselves with market intelligence and trade policy skills to be 'salespersons' abroad and to prioritize trade diplomacy over political diplomacy. Within the domain of international politics, a salesperson is integral to optimizing a country's advantages without costing it significant risks and expenses. This perspective is in line with Okano-Heijman, a senior researcher from the Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael', who emphasizes the role of trade diplomacy as a subset of economic diplomacy in securing essential concessions for the global entry of products from a designated country through trade policies and agreements. Therefore, this discovery significantly influenced my decision to explore economic diplomacy discourse, leading me to be part of a dedicated research project offered by the hosting lecturer to serve as my undergraduate thesis.
How Marketing Plays a Vital Role in Economic Diplomacy
According to my lecturer, economic diplomacy is carried out through four phases: economic salesmanship (promotion), networking, country image building, and regulatory management. Taking it as our conceptual framework, the dedicated research focused on deep-diving into the Indonesian government's strategy in tackling the issue of how the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the operational performance of small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). In particular, we analysed the digital initiatives taken by the government's marketing agency - the Indonesian Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC), to promote non-oil local products overseas due to restrictions on physical activities. The findings of our study indicate that ITPC places a significant emphasis on commercial diplomacy as another strand of economic diplomacy by promotion through social media uploads, virtual business matching, and market brief publication, as well as involvement in networking activities with policymakers, potential buyers and other relevant stakeholders.
Despite ongoing initiatives, ITPC's global influence is limited by its presence in only 19 countries, which is notably lower than trade representatives of other countries, such as the China Council For The Promotion of International Trade (CCIPT) in 30 countries or the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) in 46 countries. Other than that, the export contribution from Indonesian MSMEs was merely 15.7% in 2022, below the targeted 17% and signifying a noticeable gap in comparison to neighbouring countries like Malaysia (17.3%) and Thailand (29%). The National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance (KNEKS) argues that the current issue stems from the incapability of MSMEs to analyse trends in global markets and comprehend the market brief given by trade representatives, highlighting a fundamental challenge in their marketing literacy. This is in line with the end-of-2021 survey by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), which revealed that marketing stood as the predominant obstacle for 58.94% of MSMEs during the pandemic, and this percentage exhibited minimal variation up to 2023.
Besides that, the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small-Medium Enterprises (KemenkopUKM) notes that the modest export performance of Indonesian MSMEs is linked to insufficient awareness and limited proficiency in digital marketing. A significant number acknowledge being technologically illiterate or lacking the know-how to leverage social media or other platforms for product promotion. This is certainly significant, given the expansive digital market, where effective marketing plays a substantial role in international competitiveness. The statement is supported by the 2023 eCommerce survey by the Central Statistic Agency that 4.42% of MSMEs in eCommerce received information technology training for digital marketing, in which the majority (60.26%) underwent basic training, while 28.75% had intermediate training, and 10.99% received expert-level training. Thus, it is crucial to amplify awareness initiatives.
Envisioning Indonesia's Economic Prosperity
In accordance with the Economic Transformation agenda as part of the 8 Development Agendas outlined in the 'Indonesia Emas 2045' scheme, I envision a future where Indonesia empower a greater number of MSMEs to participate in international trade as Indonesia. With around 65 million MSMEs across all sectors, this vision goes beyond augmenting export contributions to foster business growth and elevate the economic well-being of MSME practitioners. Nevertheless, the insufficient performance and the limited number of Indonesian trade representatives, including ITPC, hinder MSMEs' ability to access education on overseas market analysis and marketing literacy. Moreover, only a select number of universities provide master's programs that focus on both marketing analysis and digital business, such as Institut Teknologi Bandung, Universitas Bina Nusantara, Universitas Telkom, and Universitas Indonesia. In addition, there are scarcely any universities that specifically delve into global and business-to-business (B2B) marketing discourse, which is crucial for formulating relevant strategies for specific overseas markets. Consequently, a collaborative effort is necessary to educate MSMEs with substantial marketing literacy, addressing the issue impeding Indonesia's full advantages in global trade. Hence, I am dedicated to advancing my education with a master's degree to broaden my skills across various marketing domains, particularly honing in on market analysis and global marketing.
A Worthwhile Route to Ultimate Goals
Through my exploration of academic programs, I identified the MSc in Marketing at the Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) from the University of Manchester, which I believe satisfies the criteria to attain my goals. As AMBS is triple accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA), the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), the MSc Marketing program specifically features Customer Behaviour & Insight and Marketing in a Digital World as mandatory modules, as well as B2B Marketing and International Marketing as optional modules for specialist pathways. Compulsory modules will analyse factors influencing consumer behaviour, familiarising students with technologies enabling digital marketing and addressing critical issues in its development and strategy implementation. On the other hand, optional modules will thoroughly explore unique discussions, concentrating on crafting a robust international brand presence through innovative marketing communication and strategic approaches for B2B go-to-market success.
My thorough investigation into AMBS's MSc Marketing program led me to Dr. Abbie Iveson, the mind behind the journal article 'Talk less and listen more? The effectiveness of social media talking and listening tactics on export performance.' Having gleaned insights from its summary, I am eager to delve into a similar topic under her mentorship and shape it into my thesis. Additionally, AMBS extends opportunities for involvement in communities and organisations that will expose me to business issues and best practices through extracurricular activities and networking events. Beyond the proposed study, I aim to gain profound insights through Manchester Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurial Action Through Us (ENACTUS). These influential business unions are known for cultivating young business leaders and facilitating significant job opportunities through their extensive network, especially as Manchester solidifies its position as a key startup hub in the UK.
A Worthwhile Route to Ultimate Goals
Upon completing my master's education, I am committed to contributing my expertise in improving digital and marketing literacy among MSMEs, working towards an increase in their quantitative contribution to exports. This action will be rooted in the aforementioned experiences in social projects and interning in a social start-up. In the short term, I plan to establish an organisation or community dedicated to advocating and educating MSMEs, with a specific emphasis on enhancing their marketing literacy in areas such as basic marketing and market analysis, global marketing strategies, and digital marketing. The final phase of the education program aims to recommend particular MSMEs to trade representatives, providing them with opportunities for further export education. To promote the program to the targetted MSMEs, both online and direct channels will be utilised, and its execution will be organised in batches through a curation system.
The initiative will start in local communities in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, and progressively reach the entire Java Island through online outreach. Active collaboration with LPDP alumni, marketing experts, experienced individuals in MSMEs, and trade representatives, including ITPC and Atase Perdagangan, will be integral to ensuring the program's nationwide presence in Indonesia. In parallel, I plan to take up a full-time marketing role in a local e-commerce company and advocate for a similar program focused on empowering MSMEs. The aim is to support e-commerce business owners in maximising the platform to grow their businesses and build trust among potential buyers. Looking ahead to the medium term, my vision is for the program to be firmly established, offering MSMEs comprehensive marketing and export education across all islands in Indonesia, including the 3T regions.
In the long run, I aim to become a marketing strategist for the Indonesian Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) and push for the establishment of more office branches in other countries. This is prompted by the observation that, unlike ITPC, Atase Perdagangan, which is present in almost 130 countries, does not specifically focus on promoting local products in overseas markets. I am eager to take the marketing literacy program to new heights within ITPC, offering innovative solutions to MSMEs for their export challenges. This, I believe, will lead to an increased percentage of MSMEs' participation and value contribution to national exports, fostering a gradual surge in economic growth. Given LPDP's focus on accelerating Indonesia's development, I see receiving this scholarship as an essential step to initiate and achieve these goals concurrently.
Another one for context, this scholarship essay's limit is 2000 words.
Thank you!
SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY
A Prolonged Journey for A Genuine Passion
Marketing has never been a fresh concept in my life, but igniting my enthusiasm for it was a lengthy journey. I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, in which the conviction of a thriving life is synonymous with being a business owner, and the preliminary insight into marketing was ingrained in me even before I discovered "marketing" as a term. Formally, it was the international program at my high school that exposed me to the fundamentals of business, which included a pivotal focus on marketing. It is firmly imprinted in my memory that the "marketing mix" was the starting point of my marketing education, serving as a foundational framework for developing winning strategies for products or businesses. Nevertheless, that was not the first exposure that sparked my interest in marketing as I decided to pursue my undergraduate studies majoring in International Relations at Universitas Brawijaya.
International relations provided me with a comprehensive understanding of global politics, an area that was once foreign to me. Its interdisciplinary nature spans multiple fields, including business and economics, through a political lens. While international relations discourse does not officially incorporate marketing in terms of theories and industry practices, my interest in marketing sparked through participation in extracurricular activities. One notable experience was during my membership in AIESEC at Universitas Brawijaya. I actively contributed to a social project aligned with the fifth SDG by promoting and organising the 'Women 4.0' workshop to extend gender issues literacy to women in Malang. As a result, my team and I successfully engaged 50+ women participants and several women empowerment communities in discussion and sharing sessions. This marked my first step into the surface of marketing practice while discovering my passion for advocating social issues.
In addition, I embarked on a journey of professional growth through the Kampus Merdeka internship program, which led me to secure an internship at Campaign.com in the marketing department. It is a social startup that connects people, social communities, donors, and sponsors through digital social movements within its app. In my role, I advertised the company through online initiatives to attract communities, providing them with funding opportunities and a platform to endorse their focus issues. Over the course of my 5-month internship, I managed to connect with 140 communities and brought 35% of them on board with Campaign.com. This experience played a pivotal role in finalizing my decision to pursue a career in marketing and ultimately landed me a full-time job as a marketer in my current company.
Holding international relations as my background and practical experiences in marketing led me to observe their significant associations. Amid the economic downturn brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, President Joko Widodo urged Indonesian diplomats and ambassadors to equip themselves with market intelligence and trade policy skills to be 'salespersons' abroad and to prioritize trade diplomacy over political diplomacy. Within the domain of international politics, a salesperson is integral to optimizing a country's advantages without costing it significant risks and expenses. This perspective is in line with Okano-Heijman, a senior researcher from the Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael', who emphasizes the role of trade diplomacy as a subset of economic diplomacy in securing essential concessions for the global entry of products from a designated country through trade policies and agreements. Therefore, this discovery significantly influenced my decision to explore economic diplomacy discourse, leading me to be part of a dedicated research project offered by the hosting lecturer to serve as my undergraduate thesis.
How Marketing Plays a Vital Role in Economic Diplomacy
According to my lecturer, economic diplomacy is carried out through four phases: economic salesmanship (promotion), networking, country image building, and regulatory management. Taking it as our conceptual framework, the dedicated research focused on deep-diving into the Indonesian government's strategy in tackling the issue of how the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the operational performance of small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). In particular, we analysed the digital initiatives taken by the government's marketing agency - the Indonesian Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC), to promote non-oil local products overseas due to restrictions on physical activities. The findings of our study indicate that ITPC places a significant emphasis on commercial diplomacy as another strand of economic diplomacy by promotion through social media uploads, virtual business matching, and market brief publication, as well as involvement in networking activities with policymakers, potential buyers and other relevant stakeholders.
Despite ongoing initiatives, ITPC's global influence is limited by its presence in only 19 countries, which is notably lower than trade representatives of other countries, such as the China Council For The Promotion of International Trade (CCIPT) in 30 countries or the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) in 46 countries. Other than that, the export contribution from Indonesian MSMEs was merely 15.7% in 2022, below the targeted 17% and signifying a noticeable gap in comparison to neighbouring countries like Malaysia (17.3%) and Thailand (29%). The National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance (KNEKS) argues that the current issue stems from the incapability of MSMEs to analyse trends in global markets and comprehend the market brief given by trade representatives, highlighting a fundamental challenge in their marketing literacy. This is in line with the end-of-2021 survey by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), which revealed that marketing stood as the predominant obstacle for 58.94% of MSMEs during the pandemic, and this percentage exhibited minimal variation up to 2023.
Besides that, the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small-Medium Enterprises (KemenkopUKM) notes that the modest export performance of Indonesian MSMEs is linked to insufficient awareness and limited proficiency in digital marketing. A significant number acknowledge being technologically illiterate or lacking the know-how to leverage social media or other platforms for product promotion. This is certainly significant, given the expansive digital market, where effective marketing plays a substantial role in international competitiveness. The statement is supported by the 2023 eCommerce survey by the Central Statistic Agency that 4.42% of MSMEs in eCommerce received information technology training for digital marketing, in which the majority (60.26%) underwent basic training, while 28.75% had intermediate training, and 10.99% received expert-level training. Thus, it is crucial to amplify awareness initiatives.
Envisioning Indonesia's Economic Prosperity
In accordance with the Economic Transformation agenda as part of the 8 Development Agendas outlined in the 'Indonesia Emas 2045' scheme, I envision a future where Indonesia empower a greater number of MSMEs to participate in international trade as Indonesia. With around 65 million MSMEs across all sectors, this vision goes beyond augmenting export contributions to foster business growth and elevate the economic well-being of MSME practitioners. Nevertheless, the insufficient performance and the limited number of Indonesian trade representatives, including ITPC, hinder MSMEs' ability to access education on overseas market analysis and marketing literacy. Moreover, only a select number of universities provide master's programs that focus on both marketing analysis and digital business, such as Institut Teknologi Bandung, Universitas Bina Nusantara, Universitas Telkom, and Universitas Indonesia. In addition, there are scarcely any universities that specifically delve into global and business-to-business (B2B) marketing discourse, which is crucial for formulating relevant strategies for specific overseas markets. Consequently, a collaborative effort is necessary to educate MSMEs with substantial marketing literacy, addressing the issue impeding Indonesia's full advantages in global trade. Hence, I am dedicated to advancing my education with a master's degree to broaden my skills across various marketing domains, particularly honing in on market analysis and global marketing.
A Worthwhile Route to Ultimate Goals
Through my exploration of academic programs, I identified the MSc in Marketing at the Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) from the University of Manchester, which I believe satisfies the criteria to attain my goals. As AMBS is triple accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA), the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), the MSc Marketing program specifically features Customer Behaviour & Insight and Marketing in a Digital World as mandatory modules, as well as B2B Marketing and International Marketing as optional modules for specialist pathways. Compulsory modules will analyse factors influencing consumer behaviour, familiarising students with technologies enabling digital marketing and addressing critical issues in its development and strategy implementation. On the other hand, optional modules will thoroughly explore unique discussions, concentrating on crafting a robust international brand presence through innovative marketing communication and strategic approaches for B2B go-to-market success.
My thorough investigation into AMBS's MSc Marketing program led me to Dr. Abbie Iveson, the mind behind the journal article 'Talk less and listen more? The effectiveness of social media talking and listening tactics on export performance.' Having gleaned insights from its summary, I am eager to delve into a similar topic under her mentorship and shape it into my thesis. Additionally, AMBS extends opportunities for involvement in communities and organisations that will expose me to business issues and best practices through extracurricular activities and networking events. Beyond the proposed study, I aim to gain profound insights through Manchester Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurial Action Through Us (ENACTUS). These influential business unions are known for cultivating young business leaders and facilitating significant job opportunities through their extensive network, especially as Manchester solidifies its position as a key startup hub in the UK.
A Worthwhile Route to Ultimate Goals
Upon completing my master's education, I am committed to contributing my expertise in improving digital and marketing literacy among MSMEs, working towards an increase in their quantitative contribution to exports. This action will be rooted in the aforementioned experiences in social projects and interning in a social start-up. In the short term, I plan to establish an organisation or community dedicated to advocating and educating MSMEs, with a specific emphasis on enhancing their marketing literacy in areas such as basic marketing and market analysis, global marketing strategies, and digital marketing. The final phase of the education program aims to recommend particular MSMEs to trade representatives, providing them with opportunities for further export education. To promote the program to the targetted MSMEs, both online and direct channels will be utilised, and its execution will be organised in batches through a curation system.
The initiative will start in local communities in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, and progressively reach the entire Java Island through online outreach. Active collaboration with LPDP alumni, marketing experts, experienced individuals in MSMEs, and trade representatives, including ITPC and Atase Perdagangan, will be integral to ensuring the program's nationwide presence in Indonesia. In parallel, I plan to take up a full-time marketing role in a local e-commerce company and advocate for a similar program focused on empowering MSMEs. The aim is to support e-commerce business owners in maximising the platform to grow their businesses and build trust among potential buyers. Looking ahead to the medium term, my vision is for the program to be firmly established, offering MSMEs comprehensive marketing and export education across all islands in Indonesia, including the 3T regions.
In the long run, I aim to become a marketing strategist for the Indonesian Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) and push for the establishment of more office branches in other countries. This is prompted by the observation that, unlike ITPC, Atase Perdagangan, which is present in almost 130 countries, does not specifically focus on promoting local products in overseas markets. I am eager to take the marketing literacy program to new heights within ITPC, offering innovative solutions to MSMEs for their export challenges. This, I believe, will lead to an increased percentage of MSMEs' participation and value contribution to national exports, fostering a gradual surge in economic growth. Given LPDP's focus on accelerating Indonesia's development, I see receiving this scholarship as an essential step to initiate and achieve these goals concurrently.
