University leadership experience - engineering week

Engineering Leadership and influence:

Good leaders are made not born,it's something you can learn if you have the desire and willpower. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training and experience.

My leadership experience started in university,by organizing the the engineering week, it is annual event joined by all engineering departments, it consist of exhibition, enlightening lectures, scientific workshops, etc. all departments do their best to win the first place at the end of the week. I have been assigned by the chemical engineering department to choose a perfect students team, supervise and follow-up them through the week period, I had played the role of contacting and encouraging chemical engineering companies to run exhibitions for their products. I have also invited some private laboratories which work in the same field . At the same time I was directing and following up my team to fulfill their activities in the right way, following the best procedures and using the resources efficiently. During this weak period I was eager and insistent to teach and train the team how to overcome the obstacles , and how to make a brave decisions and bear the consequences.

The second example of my leadership skills was during my training as a site engineer in (.........) company, which is one of the biggest petroleum operating companies in my country. I have joined the company team and their contractors to construct a mini field facility. During which I have been assigned to do many task (for example: drawing the modified process block diagram). Also I had the role of following-up the commissioning process, noticing and documenting all the problems which related to my major. I played a big role in solving these problems. The obvious one was the inconsistentness of the small volume of separator and the unexpected large amount of the feed, Which always lead to emergency shutdown caused by level control valve. I have done so many searches and talked with a lot of experienced people,There were many solutions and I had to choose the most appropriate and in line with the project budget limits. The solution was about connecting one of the separator drain slots to standby tank via a line which consist of pneumatic control valve. The commissioning team and my supervisor were very delighted with my effort . As a result of this experiment I have became an encouraging model for all different departments trainees to give all their effort and to do their best, and to know that being a trainee does not mean they cannot handle real tasks.

At the end I believe that winning the chevening scholarship is what I need to refine my leadership skills, by leading and influencing the chevening community and my community. when I return home One thing I'm going to recommend, is to start practicing leadership as early as possible and I will present workshops and trainings on how to be a leader, and transfer all my chevening experience to Sudan.

Mohammed, these are not leadership examples. These are examples of how you are a good follower. In fact, the more I think about it, it appears that the first part of your essay, is more about networking than leadership. Looking at the presentation from that angle, then this paragraph should not be in a leadership and influencing essay.

Further review of your essay in relation to your training as a site engineer shows that you were not in a leadership roles during this time. Instead, you were in a rank and file assistant role. There was nothing in that paragraph presentation that would lead the reviewer to believe that you led or influenced anybody during this time. Why? The position you were in says it all "trainee". As with any trainee, you did not lead. Rather, you followed instructions and made recommendations. The final decision was not yours to make nor were the people yours to lead and influence.

That analysis of the content of this essay influenced my opinion that this is not a leadership and influencing essay. The 2 reasons are:
1. Experience doesn't count specially when your task performance is not related to the prompt topic.
2. You were a trainee in the company without any real leadership obligations.

Everyone applying for the Chevening scholarship will showcase either a professional or a socio-civic leadership ability. Aim to provide one of the two or both of the leadership experiences. Normally, using one effective leadership experience works better. Usually, it is the professional aspect of leadership that is used since Chevening is looking for future leaders and influencers and your essay needs to exemplify those skills. in a more recent and believable setting.

Consider your professional work experience. Think of a time you were in charge of a project. Discuss what leadership skills you developed during this time. As for influencing, think of the problems the project encountered and how you inspired the team to solve the issue. Inspiration can be identified as an influencing skill in this essay, Just replace the word "inspire" with "influence" and you will present a more appropriate response.

As of now, this essay doesn't deliver what it has to in order to make you a competitive candidate. Writing a new essay with a more recent professional or community leadership and influencing experience should to the trick. I hope my advice will inspire you to write a tremendously improved leadership and influencing essay.