MOTIVATION LETTER WORKBOOK FOR THE SISGP

MOTIVATION LETTER WORKBOOK FOR THE SISGP

- By Mobolaji Folorunso

MOTIVATION LETTER WORKBOOK 1

Disclaimer

Using this workbook does NOT automatically make you a recipient of the

Swedish Institute Scholarship for Global Professionals. It is only meant as

a guide, based on my experience of learning and teaching others to be

successful in their applications. This document is NO guarantee of being

awarded the scholarship, because it was created ONLY to help you

prepare a very strong application for the scholarship.


In this workbook, we’ll be examining all the questions asked in all the

motivation letter templates for the past 4 application rounds of the Swedish

Institute Study Scholarship. You can print out the workbook to help you write

out your responses in the boxes provided.

You can download all the templates here:

2016 Motivation Letter Template





Before we delve deep into the essay questions, you’ll discover that there are

some basic questions about your personal details that are usually asked at the

beginning of the motivation letter. Those are quite easy to fill, but there is one

question that featured in the 2016, 2017, and 2018 motivation letter templates:

“Are you active in any network/organization/project aiming to influence development in your home country? If yes, please, state the name of the network/organization/project and the website (if applicable)”

To give yourself a great chance of winning the scholarship, you must write

something there. Adding the website for that network/organization/project

strengthens your application. For me, the company I was working for during

that period was massively deploying renewable power solutions across the

country and I was involved in the project in some way. I filled in the name of

the project and the page on the company’s website describing the project.

If you’re involved in some project, professional network or any organization

that involved social/economic/human development for your country or region,

write the name there. If there’s no website for it, I believe there must be some

https://app.box.com/s/g2c3bf58261zp4gwrxo629vb1ybtef2b

https://app.box.com/s/2ppya3fer6epjj7h9nx3b2t8ab55lag3

https://app.box.com/s/avh3dgeedkk3a03r4nh2mfrd4irrayam

https://app.box.com/s/bm29pzt45tt1n4yphwb5e9s46tngem83

https://app.box.com/s/xwahxnazr1joddmsstn88wwnan9jncam

https://app.box.com/s/xwahxnazr1joddmsstn88wwnan9jncam


social media references to that project/network/organization, and I’ll advise

you to include the social media link there.

Now, let’s go into the essay questions.

First, we’ll list out all the questions for each application round.

2016 Application Round

1. What is one of the main challenges or possibilities that are important to you and your country today? Elaborate on how you, with your professional background and your planned education in Sweden, can address the above mentioned challenge/possibility? [Max1200 characters incl. spaces]

2. Describe your personal and/or professional goals for the coming three years after your studies in Sweden. [Max 700 characters incl. spaces]

3. Describe a personal achievement/experience which demonstrates your leadership potential/skills. [Max 600 characters incl. spaces]

4. Are you active in any network/organisation/project aiming to influence development in your home country? If yes, please describe in what way. [Max 600 characters incl. spaces, if applicable]


1. What is one of the main challenges or possibilities that are important to you and your country today? Elaborate on how you, with your

tel:1200


professional background and your planned education in Sweden can address that challenge/possibility? [Max1200 characters incl. spaces]

2. Describe your personal and/or professional goals for the coming 5-10 years after your studies in Sweden – connect to the challenge/possibility that you described in the question above. [Max 700 characters incl. spaces]

3. SISS is looking for individuals with strong networking skills, who will engage with the SI Network for Future Global Leaders (NFGL) 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 (kindly refer to an example beyond your assignments at work). [Max 600 characters incl. spaces]

4. SISS is looking for individuals that have potential to be future leaders or influencers in their home countries. Give a concrete example on what makes you an experienced leader in your context? (Max 600 characters incl. spaces, if applicable) How will you use your time in Sweden to develop your leadership skills further? (Max 600 characters incl. spaces, if applicable)


1. Choose one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) from the list below and describe how your professional position and/or engagement in a network /civil society organisation relates to that Goal. [Max 1000 characters incl. spaces]

tel:1200


2. Describe, using concrete examples, how the master’s programme you plan to study in Sweden will contribute to your ability to address the UN SDG you have chosen above. [Max 800 characters incl. spaces]

3. Using concrete examples, describe what makes you an experienced leader and how you intend to develop your leadership skills further with an SI Study Scholarship. [Max 700 characters incl. spaces]

4. What are your professional goals 3-5 years after your studies in Sweden and how will your time in Sweden help you with reaching those goals. [Max 700 characters incl. spaces]


1. Describe your current possibilities (in terms of role/position, mandate) to influence and develop processes and work carried out within your organization or network, and how the master’s programme in Sweden can enhance your abilities to do so to a greater extent. Use concrete examples. [Max 1000 characters incl. spaces]

2. Have you engaged in any activity which contributed to social development, civic engagement, economic development, or policymaking in a developing country/region? If so, please elaborate with regards to:

a. The activity and your role/tasks in the activity.

b. The outcome and concrete data/statistic supporting the outcome (or the expected outcome if the activity is ongoing), and your specific contribution in the outcome. [Max 1200 characters incl. spaces]


1. Describe how you can apply the knowledge and experience gained from your time in Sweden in your organisation/company and/or in your home country/region upon your return from Sweden.. [Max 1000 characters incl. spaces]


2. Please choose one master’s programme you applied for and motivate how this programme can contribute to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. [Max 800 characters incl. spaces]

How To Check For Number of Characters (Including Spaces)

Did you notice the texts in red? They’re character limits. In other words, the

maximum number of characters you should type your response in. Note, it’s

“character”, not “words”; this means every space, full-stop, comma, hyphen

and letter counts.

But, how do you know the number of characters you’ve typed in Microsoft

Words when drafting your responses? Don’t worry, I got you. See the following

steps:

1. Highlight what you’ve already as shown below:


2. Click on the “Review” tab and the “Word Count” menu item on the left as shown below:


3. The number of characters(including spaces) is thereafter revealed as shown below:

In the next section, the questions for the past 4 application rounds are

grouped based on the similarity of the information being requested for and

we’ll work together on how to provide appropriate responses to the

questions.


MOTIVATION LETTER QUESTION 1 FOR THE 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 APPLICATION ROUNDS

Now let’s examine Question 1 for the 4 motivation letter templates.

[2016] Question 1: What is one of the main challenges or possibilities that are important to you and your country today? Elaborate on how you, with your professional background and your planned education in Sweden, can address the above-mentioned challenge/possibility? [Max1200 characters incl. spaces]

[2017] Question 1: What is one of the main challenges or possibilities that are important to you and your country today? Elaborate on how you, with your professional background and your planned education in Sweden can address that challenge/possibility? [Max1200 characters incl. spaces]

[2018] Question 1: Choose one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) from the list below and describe how your professional position and/or engagement in a network /civil society organisation relates to that Goal. [Max1000 characters incl. spaces]

[2019] Question 1a: Describe your current possibilities (in terms of role/position, mandate) to influence and develop processes and work carried out within your organization or network, and... [Max1000 characters incl. spaces]

[2020] Question 1:Describe how you can apply the knowledge and experience gained from your time in Sweden in your organisation/company and/or in your home country/region upon your return from Sweden.. [Max 1000 characters incl. spaces]

[2020] Question 2: Please choose one master’s programme you applied for and motivate how this programme can contribute to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. [Max 800 characters incl. spaces]

tel:1200

tel:1200

tel:1000

tel:1000


Do you notice any similarities between the first 4 questions? List them:

2016 and 2017 are exactly the same with 2018 being different from them. 2019

is more similar to 2016 and 2017 because it asked for your

professional/volunteering experience and how you have been able to influence

development in your organisation. But, if you critically examine the first 4

questions, you'll discover that they're essentially asking for the same things:

1. What's your professional background? In other words, what are you involved in presently at work? (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) Example: Medical Doctor at UNICEF Nigeria office

2. What problem(s) in your country is/are your work addressing? (2016, 2017)


List them all using facts, figures, statistics from international organizations:

Hint: The scholarship selection committee is made up of human beings with emotional sides. I'll advise that you describe the most adverse effect(s) of not solving this problem(s) for your country. Will people die? Or have people died because of this problem? Talk about it. Is crime rate increasing because of this problem? Talk about it. Research and mention the numbers.

Example: 12,000 children have died of Malaria in the past 2 years in Landa. If this problem is not addressed, UNICEF projects that children death rate due to malaria is set to increase to 22,000 per year in the next 2 years.


3. Now, describe, using specific examples, situations at work where you helped address this problem in your country. (2016, 2017, 2019)

Use facts, figures, statistics, numbers.

Hint: Use the Situation-Action-Results format for this.

Situation: Describe the situation in specific details Action: Describe what you did in specific details. Not what your team did, but what you did. Results: What were the results/outcomes of these actions of yours? Example: In 2017, I served as a Medical Campaign Coordinator leading a team of 7 medical professionals to organise 12 Malaria sensitisation campaigns over the course of the year in Gburu, a local community in Jos, Northern Nigeria, hotseat of an ongoing violent crisis between herdsmen and local farmers. This effort led to a reduction in child malaria cases in the local community from 122 in 2016 to 18 in 2017.


4. What Master's programme do you intend studying in Sweden and how will it help you solve these challenges in your country? (2016, 2017)

Example: Master's in Public Health

5. Of all the following UN SDGs, which one fits your professional background most?

Hint:

List of UN SDGs:

GOAL 1: No Poverty GOAL 2: Zero Hunger GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being GOAL 4: Quality Education GOAL 5: Gender Equality GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production GOAL 13: Climate Action GOAL 14: Life Below Water GOAL 15: Life on Land GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal


For the 2020 Question 1, you should identify what knowledge and experience you'll gain from studying in Sweden. Like mention one or two. I also expect that you'll identify a problem in your country and what the problem has cost your country, probably in terms of human lives, loss of productivity, loss of agricultural land, etc...And in doing this, mention a number, percentage, etc...Then, you can mention how you'll use the knowledge and experience in Sweden that you've mentioned earlier in solving this problem.

For the 2020 Question 2, you should specifically mention the UN SDG(s) that your Master's programme will contribute to. For this, you identify the objectives of the Master's programme (don't use same words as on the university's website). Then, mention the UN SDG(s) it contributes to and how it contributes to it (this means you should also know more about that SDG and its targets).

MOTIVATION LETTER QUESTION 2 FOR 2016, 2017 AND QUESTION 4a FOR 2018

Now let’s examine Question 2 for 2016 and 2017, and the first part of Question 4 for 2018. We’ll look at the second part of Question 4 for 2018 in the next section.

[2016] Question 2: Describe your personal and/or professional goals for the coming three years after your studies in Sweden. [Max 700 characters incl. spaces]

[2017] Question 2: Describe your personal and/or professional goals for the coming 5-10 years after your studies in Sweden – connect to the challenge/possibility that you described in the question above. [Max 700 characters incl. spaces]

[2018] Question 4a: What are your professional goals 3-5 years after your studies in Sweden and…

What similarities do you notice in all these questions for the past 3 years?


➔ They all asked for your professional goals, 3 years, 5-10 years and 3-5 years from now.

Now, let's go into crafting appropriate responses to these questions.

You've heard it in different places that goals are meant to be SMART. S - Specific M - Measurable A - Achievable R - Realistic T - Timely

How do you apply this format to answering the questions?

1. Be specific with your goal.

2. Measurable. Your goals should be so specific that it should be easy for anyone to clearly determine when you've achieved them. In other words, include numbers, names of places, dates, facts, names of institutions, etc

3. Achievable. Based on your antecedence, experience, educational background, intended Master's studies, can you achieve those goals?

4. Realistic. Is it a realistic goal and not one based on fictions or fantasies of one's mind? Based on resources that will be at your disposal, can these goals be attained?

5. Timely. Goals should have a timeline. In how many years, at what time in the future, in what month or what day will the goals be achieved?

So, based on the above format, see examples of goals I crafted off hand. Note that these are just some examples that came off hand and not meant for you to duplicate in any manner. The Swedish Institute frowns against it.

Example 1: In 3 years after finishing my Master's study, I intend to return to my country to establish a centre for youth unemployment in Cairo, my country's capital city.


Example 2: Immediately I finish my studies in Sweden in June, 2021, I intend to return to my country and join the Rural Electrification Project of the Federal Ministry of Power of Swaziland.

Also, take note of how "intend to return to my country" is mentioned in those statements. It's not compulsory to include that in your response, but since the purpose of the SISS is for scholarship recipients to return to their countries of origin after the studies in Sweden, mentioning it makes your goal more specific.

Now, write a draft of yours below:


MOTIVATION LETTER QUESTION 2 FOR 2018, QUESTION 5 FOR 2017, QUESTION 4b FOR 2018, and QUESTION 1b FOR 2019

Now, let's turn our attention to Question 2 of 2018, Question 5 of 2017, and the second part of Question 4 of 2018.

[2018] Question 2: Describe using concrete examples, how the Master’s programme you plan to study in Sweden will contribute to your ability to address the UN SDG you have chosen

[2017] Question 5: How will you use your time in Sweden to develop your leadership skills further? (Max 600 characters incl. spaces, if applicable)

[2018] Question 4b: …how will your time in Sweden help you with reaching those goals. [Max 700 characters incl. spaces]

[2019] Question 1b …how the master’s programme in Sweden can enhance your abilities to do so to a greater extent. Use concrete examples.

They're asking for how your time in Sweden will help you achieve your goals or what will you be involved in to develop yourself as a leader.

The starting point should be,

1. What avenues for skill development are available in Sweden for you that you can take advantage of?


Action point: Search for skill development opportunities for SI scholarship holders that you can take advantage of. Contact past scholarship holders for information on this.

2. Conferences? What specific conference in Sweden is related to your Master's studies and your goals or can help you develop leadership skills?

Action point: Search for relevant conferences or networking opportunities in Sweden that you can attend.

3. Study visits? What specific study visits can help you develop skills relevant to your goals?


Action point: Search for opportunities in Sweden that will afford you relevant study visits.

4. Is there something spectacular about a course or a faculty member of your intended Master's programme that could help you build your leadership skills and achieve your goals?

Action point: Go through every course and profile of faculty members in your intended Master's programme. This can be found on the university's website.

After doing all this, make a draft of your conclusions below (see a sample below):

Example 1: Learning from Professor Ericsson, a faculty member of my Master's programme and a Nobel Prize Winner in Physics will give me access to world class and time-tested solutions to knowledge and expertise on rural electrification.

Example 2: I intend to attend the Annual Energy Conference in Stockholm and the Amnesty International-organised symposia on rural electrification to develop networks and learn from experts on rural electrification.


MOTIVATION LETTER QUESTION 3 FOR 2016, 2018, QUESTION 4 FOR 2017, AND QUESTION 2 FOR 2019

[2016] Question 3: Describe a personal achievement/experience which demonstrates your leadership potential/skills. [Max 600 characters incl. spaces]

[2017] Question 4: SISS is looking for individuals that have potential to be future leaders or influencers in their home countries. Give a concrete example on what makes you an experienced leader in your context? (Max 600 characters incl. spaces, if applicable)

[2018] Question 3: Using concrete examples, describe what makes you an experienced leader and how you intend to develop your leadership skills further with an SI Study Scholarship. (Max 700 characters incl. spaces, if applicable)

[2019] Question 2: Have you engaged in any activity which contributed to social development, civic engagement, economic development, or policymaking in a developing country/region? If so, please elaborate with regards to:

a. The activity and your role/tasks in the activity.

b. The outcome and concrete data/statistic supporting the outcome (or the expected outcome if the activity is ongoing), and your specific contribution in the outcome. (Max 1200 characters incl. spaces, if applicable)

Do you see any similarities between the above 4 questions from the last 4 years?

They're basically asking for specific and brief narrations of past situations where you have exhibited leadership skills.

I know you might look at your past experiences, and be looking for those big moments that you were the "leader" or you were in a leadership position. It doesn't have to be that kind of situation.


Have you ever organised an event? Have you ever tried to raise money for a project? Have you ever initiated and implemented an idea at your workplace? Write about them.

In crafting your response, you're also going use the Situation-Action-Results format.

Situation: Describe the situation in specific details. Names of organisations involved, number of people on your team, your role in the team, the name of the project, the duration of your leadership/project, dates. Action: Describe what you did in specific details. Not what your team did, but what you did. Results: What were the results/outcomes of these actions of yours? How much money was raised? How many people benefited from your project? How much money did the company make after your idea was implemented?

Note: Note the difference between the words used for questions in each year. 2016 and 2017 asked for just one example, but 2018 asked for "examples", in other words, more than one example. So, take note of these minute details for the next application.

Note: If possible, include short links of social media pages, blogs, or websites that reported that project. You can use bit.ly to shorten weblinks.

Example 2: In April 2016, I led a team of 8 medical doctors to volunteer for a Free Polio Immunization Project (bit.ly/fip87th) in Adi, southern Nigeria, a community of 300 men, 500 women and 320 children. We raised $1000 for the project from different organizations and 145 children were freely immunized against Polio.

Now draft your own response to the questions below:

http://bit.ly/


MOTIVATION LETTER QUESTION 4 AND QUESTION 3 FOR 2016 AND 2017 APPLICATION ROUNDS RESPECTIVELY

[2016] Question 4: Are you active in any network/organisation/project aiming to influence development in your home country? If yes, please describe in what way. (Max 600 characters incl. spaces, if applicable)

[2017] Question 3: SISS is looking for individuals with strong networking skills, who will engage with the SI Network for Future Global Leaders (NFGL) 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 (kindly refer to an example beyond your assignments at work). [Max 600 characters incl. spaces]

Do you notice any similarities between the two?

They're asking about situations where you exhibited your networking skills. Your ability to meet new people, establish a valuable working relationship with them. In other words, do you have the ability to meet someone new and start a company together, solve a social development problem together, work together on a project, become team members?

So, we're using the same Situation-Action-Results format for this.

Situation: Describe the situation in specific details. Names of organisations involved, number of people you networked with, where you met them and how you met them, the name of the project you collaborated on, the duration of the project, dates, and if possible, include shortened weblinks of social media pages, blogs or websites that talk about the project you collaborated on.

Action: Describe how you met the other person/people, where you met them, what you did in specific details. Not what your team did, but what you did.

Results: What were the results/outcomes of these actions of yours? How much money was raised? How many people benefited from your collaboration with this person?


Example 1: In June 2015, I networked with 2 Quantity Surveyors at the Annual Surveying Conference in Lagos, Nigeria and we collaborated on an urban renewal project to develop the inner cities of Lagos. This project has received a funding of $2 million from the state government and is currently in the execution phase.

Example 2: I am currently a student coordinator for the Lagos network of the Nigeria Society of Pro bono Lawyers, a network of professional lawyers who use their resources to provide free legal services for poor people. I'm in charge of student recruitment into the network and increased student membership of the network from 22 in 2016 to 183 in 2017.

Now draft your own response to the questions:


Whew! That’s a whole lot.

Yeah, it is. But, it’s worth it, don’t you think so?

MOTIVATION LETTER WORKBOOK FOR THE SISGP

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