September 29, 2020, by International students

Peter’s tips for your Chevening Scholarship application

Peter Paul Akanko is a Chevening Scholar from Ghana, beginning an Msc Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Management course at the University of Nottingham.

I am the founder and CEO of Kente Master Limited, a social enterprise which is into the production of high quality original kente (woven Ghanaian fabric) products while leveraging on digital technology to market and supply these products globally. A core part of the mission of Kente Master is to economically empower local kente weavers by creating newer and  wider markets for them, giving them a sustainable livelihood.

Our main products are graduation stoles (scarves), full kente cloth, clothing and accessories. Over the past 5-6 years, Kente Master has supplied thousands of graduation stoles and other products to students and organizations in 15 countries including the US, UK, China, South Africa among others, helping to economically empower over 100 local kente weavers and promoting this unique cultural heritage. Kente Master has an amazing project coming up which will be exciting for young people around the world so stay tuned.

Kente Master graduation stoles in use at the University of Pennsylvania

I applied for the Chevening Scholarship because I found it as the perfect fit to help me gain more knowledge and experience in business and to build the right networks to help me expand my business across the world and economically empower more kente weavers and other artisans in Ghana. I also intend to help nurture more Social Entrepreneurs to help solve problems in Ghana and Africa at large.

Looking through various UK universities, I found the programmes and modules of the University of Nottingham amazing, and with the support I received from Emma Tayou (Nottingham’s Regional Manager for West Africa) and the Admissions team throughout my application till now, I developed further love for the University. The induction and introductory courses have been great so far with a lot of great professional development opportunities available. I feel very welcomed and I know at the end of the programme I will be glad I chose to study at the University of Nottingham.

Here are my tips on applying for a Chevening Scholarship

1. It’s not about you. Never make your essays revolve around you as a person but more on community impact – be it your essay on leadership, networking, studying in the UK or career goals.

2. Use practical examples as much as possible in your essays and avoid ambiguity. Instead of saying “I plan to help promote education in rural communities in Ghana”, say “I plan to put together some volunteers who would go to various schools to teach and guide school children in their studies”.

3. Choose quality over quantity in citing examples – be it your leadership or networking essays, do not try to state too many examples. That might seem like you are not focused. Choose the most key examples and elaborate on them

4. Be very clear about your career plan (short term, mid-term and long term) and let it be consistent with your essay on leadership.

5. Make sure your introductions are catchy enough.

I hope these tips are helpful. These are my personal views from my own experience and do not reflect directly the views of the Chevening Secretariat. You should refer to Chevening’s full application guidance when you apply.

Applications for Chevening Scholarships in 2021 are open until Tuesday 3 November 2020. Find out more about Chevening Scholars at Nottingham.

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