Why I Deserve This Scholarship: About Myself and My Academic Achievements

Reviewing scholarship essay examples about yourself provided me with valuable insights into effective storytelling, personal branding, and showcasing unique qualities, helped me craft a compelling narrative that highlights my accomplishments, aspirations, and the reasons why I am the best candidate for financial support and why I deserve the scholarship. 

Why Did I Choose Purposed Course and Institution?

It has been almost 3 years since I and my colleague initiate our business called Diet Partner. We are providing the first affordable online diet program and food management consulting service for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia. We took advantage of current technology disruption by using it to assist, consult, and monitor the client's diet progress. Those steps assisted by registered dietitians in purpose to promote a healthy diet. Concurrent with that, through food management consulting services, we support the SMEs to grow in the current competitive market. They can provide healthier products and practice excellent quality control. As a start-up, we are struggling to grow, sustain, and expands. Currently, we already have around 1,000 clients in Indonesia and some overseas clients. I am feeling grateful for facing the fact that Diet Partner got a lot of attention from the market. However, at the same time, as a nutrition graduate who has no educational background in business, I experience many obstacles to manage this business as it grows fast. Therefore, I tried to improve my business knowledge and skills by participating in some non-degree courses. Unfortunately, I only got some basic and medium business knowledge and skills that not enough to support me lead Diet Partner’s growth. For that reason, I made this scholarship application and plan to study advanced business at the Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Entrepreneurship at The University of Technology Sydney or The University of Adelaide. I choose those courses, mainly because they provide suitable units as required to manage Diet Partner, such as Start-up Marketing; Entrepreneurship and Innovation Practice, Venture Growth; Design Thinking; and Start-up Finance and Accounting. Both of those institutions are the Top 15 Universities in Australia in Business and Management Studies regarding QS World University Rankings 2020 and the Top 2 MBA with specialization in Entrepreneurship in that list.

A couple of years running the start-up (Diet Partner), teach me that become an entrepreneur requires beyond what I expected before. It requires a combination of proper knowledge, skills, entrepreneurial personality, network, and capital. Proper knowledge and skills enable an entrepreneur to manage their business excellently based on practical experience and a set of valid information. Entrepreneurial personality factors such as entrepreneurial mindset, openness, collaborative approaches are required by the entrepreneurs to enlarge their business. Then, the network and capital play significant roles in all stages of business. Firstly, my purposed study will contribute to my career as an entrepreneur by improving my knowledge and skills. For instance, the unit of Start-up Finance and Accounting at The University of Technology Sydney will develop my understanding of how finance and accounting information is used in the strategic and operational decision-making process. Another example, the unit of Design Thinking at The University of Adelaide will equip me with a skill to develop solutions to complex problems and bring the innovative product in the market to create social impact. Secondly, my purposed courses will develop my personality as an entrepreneur by adopting certain good things of western & multi-cultures entrepreneurial practices that live there and help me to create an ideal workforce culture in Diet Partner then. Especially through the experience in discussing a broad range of topics and work as a team with fellow students, and internship opportunities in Australia’s ventures. The last, my purposed course and Australia as a country are part of the global hub that connects people around the world. Many investors, businessmen, talents, and key figures live or connected in a large-scale network there. By study there, I believe that I will get a larger network to collaborate with and more funding opportunities to develop Diet Partner.

How Have I Contributed to Solving a Challenge and to Implementing Change?

Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, stroke, and heart attack are the world prevalent problems today. Those are the effects of the unhealthy lifestyle, such as lack of physical activity; high junk food consumption; and unbalance nutrition intake. Therefore, since 2017, I and my team develop a nutrition and health start-up called Diet Partner to promote a healthy lifestyle, servicing people who want to implement a balanced diet; and supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to provide healthy food for costumers. I lead the team to service around 1,000 clients in Indonesia by utilizing current technological advances. Diet Partner provides online diet services which the clients assisted by registered dietitians to implement a healthy diet program. The client’s diet goals vary, to lose or increase body weight, or to support the medical treatment such as a hearth diet for people with cardiovascular disease. The service normally takes one to twelve months for each client, began with the nutrition assessment process to collect information and assessing client conditions. Based on the assessment, the dietitians state client nutrition diagnosis and develop a diet plan for them. Later, the dietitian assists the client by consistently give them consultation; monitoring; and evaluation of the implementation process. Furthermore, Diet Partner also provides service and collaborate with the SMEs in Yogyakarta and Central Java to increase their capability in producing healthy food. Through food management training and assistance, the catering enterprises; restaurants; and food producers are supported to implement a food quality control system, develop nutritious products, and put out nutrition value labels on their packaging to help customer calculate their nutrition intake. By the increasing number of Diet Partner’s clients, we hope this would create a great ripple effect for the people to live healthier and emerge SMEs' healthy products in the larger market.

As an entrepreneur in nutrition services, I envision myself becoming a prominent figure who contributes to the public health sector and Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) growth. Through combining knowledge and skills of nutrition and business, I will take a part in Indonesia’s advancement by developing a nutrition venture, become a consultant as my side job, and spread knowledge as a freelance lecturer. First, I have a start-up (with around 1,000 clients) called Diet Partner. Diet Partner will lead the way of Indonesia’s future nutrition industry by taking advantage of technology to provide innovative, affordable, and effective services that help people to live healthier. We will manage the resources to develop a nutrition-tech venture and contribute to the community. After completing my MBA, I will develop this business. Second, as a freelance consultant for the government, I have been and will consistently support the SMEs to improve their food quality and growth. I involved in the policy and program making process for SMEs, such as Dr. Sardjito Culinary Point Revitalization and Sleman's Traditional Market Food Safety Program. That collaboration will keep going, of course with improvements and broader partners after I finished my MBA. Third, I have been collaborated with the Nutrition and Health Department of Gadjah Mada University to organize public lectures in nutrition entrepreneurship topics. Because, they do not have experts in combined nutrition and business, I asked to become a guest speaker. In Indonesia, the expert in that area is so limited. Therefore, in the future, I would strengthen my relations with many institutions and become a freelance lecturer to spread my knowledge. Finally, as a nutrition business expert, I will contribute through those three kinds of jobs. The main constraint possibly the economic uncertainty. But, as an entrepreneur who has the expertise, strong leadership, and broad network, I will find my ways.

In conclusion, I firmly believe that I am a deserving candidate for this scholarship due to my unwavering dedication, academic achievements, and commitment to making a positive impact. With this scholarship, I will not only alleviate the financial burden on myself and my family but also have the opportunity to fully immerse myself in my studies, engage in meaningful extracurricular activities, and actively contribute to my community. I am grateful for the consideration and assure you that, if granted this scholarship, I will continue to work diligently, strive for excellence, and use this opportunity to further my personal and professional growth. Thank you for your time and for considering me as a recipient of this esteemed scholarship.