Success as an entrepreneur and innovator isn't possible without building a strong, objective network

Chevening Scholarship - Networking Question

I need your support to review my Answer for Network Question of Chevening Scholarship

As the networking skill is one of essential skills should be accompanied by the entrepreneur. Being Entrepreneur and innovator requires to study the people needs and expectations to gain new ideas as initiation for a business and this is cannot be achieved without building strong objective Network

As a result, I used to build a network with all people around me either physically or virtually from the social media. Also, join the events of my interest and hobbies are my techniques to build, enlarge and keep my network. During my study in the faculty of engineering I was thrilled to increase my knowledge and wide my experience even on topics away from the core of study and especially the ones focused on skills rather than technical aspects. In aim to satisfy my desire I joined SPE -Society of petroleum Engineers- an international organization for professionals in the filled of oil and gas during the summer of 3rd studying year. I used to join their monthly meeting to build my network with the professional in this field. During one of those sessions a marketing manager -Mohamed Zaki- from Weathrford Company made a presentation about problems faced to gather data from Soccer rod pumps and the subject was interesting to me at that time as it aligned with some ideas planned to be considered in my graduation project. After the presentation I went to him introduced myself and got his contact and started to build my relationship with him, used to visit him in his office and to depending on his guidance

In the summer of my last year, group of student and me reestablished the student chapter in our university with dreams of transforming this chapter from unknown one to be one of the best five student chapters all over the World .In the beginning I was assigned as a head assistant of funding raising committee in which I was responsible to gain sponsorship for our chapter and build relationships with the companies in the field .Therefore ,for me it was the time to use the built network of SPE Professionals and decision makers in the oil and gas companies to be our sponsorship and by default I connected that marketing manager, met him in his office, introduced our proposal to him and before the end of this year WEATHERFORD was our platinum sponsor and funded us by around 20 EGP at that year.

In another situation it was needed to invite public figures people to be our speakers in that year closing ceremony for marketing purposes for the next year. By using my network skills, I succeeded to invite Dr. Mohamed Abdel Samee, project manager in Microsoft, to be one of our speaker who volunteered for this mission.

During the last two years, I became an amateur athlete and started to be marathon runner. To achieved this, I decided to join the running activities as a motivation rather than playing in closed gyms. By using my Facebook to search for people who organizing these events and took to surrounding people about my intentions and needs caused one of my colleague to inform me about his brother who had a 4 year experience in joining those events and hence he introduced me to him and supported me to be a marathon runner.

Abdel, the essay requirement for the networking essay is as follows:
Chevening is looking for individuals with strong networking skills, who will engage with the Chevening community and influence and lead others in their chosen profession. Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your networking skills, and outline how you hope to use these skills in the future.

The strongest requirement for this essay is that your network needs to be existing in a professional manner, within your profession at the moment. All you have shown here are academic networks which do not create an impact due to the non-professional related aspects of these networks. What you need to show is your current network in action. Networks gained through physical contact , not social media as there are restrictions regarding the validity of social media contacts in a scholarship application.

I do not see any reason to believe that you have a professional network that will be of use to the Chevening community if you should be awarded a scholarship. You are not offering any information that says; "I have a unique set of networks that can enhance the program". Instead you are saying "I have academic contacts and I have academic organization activities that look like I am creating a network but I really wasn't." Your networking essay is not going to help you get past the screening round.

You need to present the following information in this essay:
1. A description of how you build professional networks
2. An example of this network building skill
3. The actual application of this network within your line of work
4. The importance of this network to Chevening
5. How you see the Chevening community being improved by the addition of this network

None of these required elements are represented in your essay which is why you cannot use any part of this in your next draft. The keyword is professional, within your field of work, not academic or extra curricular. Focus your essay on the correct requirements.