Leadership and influence:

Chevening is looking for individuals who will be future leaders or influencers in their home countries. Explain
how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your own leadership and influencing skills to support
your answer.

I surmise I am fortunate enough to have been born and raised in a family where serving the community
has been eminently instilled in every individual. Witnessing the involvement of my elders with local
bodies and helping them provide for the poor and the destitute, I reckon I have been able to develop
perseverance, resilience and leadership skills.
Leadership, to me, is about serving. To be able to give back or to transform in a way that proves to be
beneficial for all, are the notions that I have lived by. I started volunteering while I was in elementary
school, actively participating in clean-up drives, blood donation campaigns etc. (Says nothing about
leadership)

Later, during my university years, my devotion to serve had only augmented. Owing to my influential
personality, and having played an imperative role for the Finance and Investment Society, which also
includes organising one of the largest societal events held at my university named ‘Bullseye’. (Elaborate,
mention any event you organized), I was made president in my final year. During these years, I
embarked on the opportunity to help other students and mentor them.
In addition to this I also performed duties as the vice-captain of my football team, which played in a
football league at my university (example). I had taken the responsibility of conducting regular practices
which paid off when my team which I still adore to date, starting showing results.

Currently working as, a Credit Review Manager, Risk Management Group at MCB Bank, after
completing my Management Trainee program and currently is the most profitable Bank in the
country. My role is to review credit requests which includes requests for enhancement in facilities as
well as annual reviews of clients which are sent from the business side of the bank and present them
to the higher authorities (ranging from the President to Department Head) for timely approvals.
(Either link it to leadership or remove it)

After completing my Management Trainee Program at MCB Bank, I was given the title of Credit review
manager, Risk Management Group. The bank has successfully integrated a new software called ‘Loan
Origination System’ (LOS) in order to streamline credit proposals and requests. Previously, hard copies
of credit proposals were circulated but now, with the integration of the new software, the goal of a
paperless environment (green banking) is being achieved and the disposal of cases/requests takes place
in an efficient manner. I was selected for the UAT (User Acceptance Test) of the software from my
division, in order to analyze and review to the IT group on how the software could be improved and
integrated in an efficient manner. As I was one of the very few who had a hands-on experience of the
new software, I consequently trained my colleagues in my division in order to teach them how to use
the new software.

Networking:
Chevening is looking for individuals with strong professional relationship-building skills, who will engage
with the Chevening community and influence and lead others in their chosen profession. Please explain how
you build and maintain relationships in a professional capacity, using clear examples of how you currently do
this, and outline how you hope to use these skills in the future. (minimum word count: 100 words; maximum
word count: 500 words)

Being an extrovert, networking has always come easy to me. While networking is more than often
substituted for socializing, I believe it has more to do with relationship building.
Over the years, I have only deciphered that its essential to be of support to people so as to be an active
contributor to the betterment of the society as a whole.

While serving as the president of the Finance and the Investment Society at my university, interacting
with people on a regular basis was inevitable. Amid this process, I discerned how I was able to learn new
things from each individual who would join the society and how they were benefitting from my
mentoring. It only fell to my realization how networking plays a pivotal role in building an entire
community.

I was recruited as a Management Trainee Officer in a batch of twenty-six people. Till date I have
maintained rapport with each one of them and have made myself available for any professional or
personal counselling. When I first joined my current organization, I knew I had to be at my utmost best
in order to succeed, furthermore, and in order to make the environment better I knew I had to link-up
well with my colleagues. For example, after being posted for my current role, I have to directly report to
my Unit Head and Department Head. My role requires me to regularly connect and present cases to the
higher authorities such as the President and Chief Risk Officer.
The request I receive and in order to be presented to the higher authorities, the same has to be
reviewed by my supervisors (revise the sentence). Therefore, I always have to be the best version of
myself. I have to regularly seek help from my seniors not just from my unit, but from other groups as
well, and have to communicate in a way which helps make the environment around much more
comfortable, not just for me, but for everyone around to grow more. Therefore, I always try to have
lunch with my colleagues, try to hangout after office hours and most importantly supporting them in
their hour of need. Such as to accommodate, I sit late at work to make sure I can help those who need
assistance. Therefore, this helps everyone all around to be the best version of themselves altogether.
My role also requires me to

Write more about your networking experience. mention instances when you interacted with
higher-ups other than your boss/immediate supervisor. ??

Studying in the UK:

Outline why you have selected your chosen three university courses, and explain how this relates to your
previous academic or professional experience and your plans for the future. Please do not duplicate the
information you have entered on the work experience and education section of this form (minimum word
count: 100 words, maximum word count: 500 words)
On account of having acute interest in economics, numbers and analyses, I chose finance and economics
as my majors for my undergrad degree. In the course of four years, I developed passion to pursue my
masters in the related disciplines but with more advanced modules.
I chose my three required courses at the University of Manchester, Manchester.My decision to opt for
this university revolves around a number of reasons. Firstly, the city of Manchester has a lot to offer to
someone who is coming from a different country. With its prevalent diversity of ethnicities and culture, I
believe the survival is rather practicable. Furthermore, its home to the team I adore the most
Manchester United.
Moreover, the university itself is an encapsulation of top quality education, culture, unions, sports,
festivals and all the amenities, which could prove viable for any student. Building on this, a few of my
friends recently graduated from here and were able to land decent jobs at their home countries.
Furthermore, I was fortunate enough to find befitting courses at this very place. So in a nutshell, my
decision was not based on a fluke, rather a result of detailed and well informed planning.

Something policy related??

Firstly, I have chosen MSc International Business and Management. The modules of this course provide
an overarching view of how businesses work and are managed. This lies on an altogether different end
of the spectrum of my field. However, this field carries a lot of potential in terms of learning and in the
job market. Obtaining this qualification will not only improve my set of skills but help me diversify in a
way which would galvanize my learning capacity and give me a chance to serve better to my home
country, Pakistan. During my undergrad, courses such as Operations management, Human Resource
Management and marketing management resulted in having keen interest in this field.

I have chosen MSc Business Analytics and Strategic Management and have ranked it on second number
for my chevening scholarship. The modules comprising the entire course appear to be challenging which
I believe would stimulate a wholesome learning experience. They are well in-line with the courses I have
studied in my undergrad programme.
Currently working as, a Credit Risk Manager, I have been able to deploy my theoretical knowledge and
learn a lot more that than what I already carried. I believe that this degree, which I’m keen on pursuing,
fits well with my work experience and my previous qualifications.

The course that I have placed third in my ranking is MSc Data Science Business and Management. The
modules for this course appear to be more on the qualitative end but are well aligned with my already
acquired qualifications, as my work also involves making weekly and quarterly reports pertaining to
credit management such as of NPL’s and trade bills outstanding that are presented to the Division head
and Group Head. (how?) (add second last paragraph). The reason I opted for this course is that it will
give me a chance to diversify my qualification and not restrict me to a specific department while
applying for work. (what do you want to do with this diversification?)
Career Plan:

Chevening is looking for individuals who have a clear post-study career plan. Please outline your immediate
plans upon returning home and your longer term career goals. You may wish to consider how these relate to
what the UK government is doing in your country. (minimum word count: 100 words, maximum word count:
500 words)

Upon returning home, I plan on setting my foothold with those working in the public sector in order to
learn more about the current on-ground work been done by various organisations, and to add value to
those sectors which are most important such as education and business development(vague).

As mentioned before, I come from a household, which has been involved in the betterment of local
communities, since way before. They have helped in setting up schools in villages; raise issues pertaining
to the legal fraternity in their areas as well as raising voices for the poor by using their influence.

If I get selected for the Chevening scholarship, following the footsteps of those in my family, I am looking
forward to working in the public sector where for example, organisations working in the UK with the
government of Pakistan are tirelessly working for raising issues which have been detrimental to the
country’s growth such as education. Therefore, considering where I come from it has been one of my
long term goals to work and help those who have been a bit unfortunate.