MSC Programme and Project Management - Personal Statement Example

School: Topic: PERSONAL MENT: MSC PROGRAMME AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT Lecturer: I am applying for the Programme and Project Management (PPM) course. My rationale and motivation for selecting the PPM is directly linked to the overall aim of the course, which is to train professionals who can contribute in effective ways to the development and management of both small and large scale projects and programmes (Warwick, 2015). With advancements in technological expansion, the complexity of projects and programmes has increased significantly. This has automatically made it necessary and important professionals in this field possess the right form of training and development that can made them viable for the demanding job market. The PPM course is seen as an opportunity for me to put myself ahead of the increasing demand of the project and programme management job market. By putting myself a step ahead of the requirements of the job market, I can be assured that I will become what employers and project owners are looking for. But this striking vision needs to be nurtured and started somewhere and that is the course being applied to. Apart from the outstanding benefits I will derive from the course, one other reason that makes me prefer PPM is the fact that nature of the course matches who I am and what I have been able to achieve so far. First, I have a very good background in British education as I have successfully completed a four year BA business programme in Britain. This puts me in a better position to easily adapt to the British learning environment and requirements. Even though business studies and PPM are different, there is much similarity between the two, putting me at a better position to grabbing academic concepts very easily. For example it is common knowledge that most projects and programmes that require the expertise of project and programme managers are run by businesses. With my knowledge in business, I will therefore be able to have a very deep understanding of project owners. I can also have empathy for project managers in understanding issues of project urgency, cost saving, and quality control. My level of confidence expressed above as to why my background as a Business student can help me succeed with the PPM course can be backed by realistic academic abilities and achievement. For example as a Business student, I achieved very good grade in Finance, which I scored 79% and thus was graded A- in my course assignment. With my current GPA, I am confident about completing with a high 2.1 degree, which is a strong demonstration and evidence of attitude to academic work. With the background I have, selecting the Warwick University comes as a perfect choice. This is because of the rich history of the university which makes it a frontier in not just academic tutoring but in the overall changing and shaping of lives of students. My interest in the department and the programme also comes from the comprehensiveness of the courses they offer. Reading about the PPM course on the university’s website, I found the course is well structured with promise of providing the right forms of methodologies, tools, principles, and philosophies need to make me a successful project manager. Based on the impressive history and record surrounding the university’s approach to student education and overall development, there is no doubt that it qualifies as the preferred choice of every student seeking to undertake learning at the highest level. For me however, it is not just about what I stand to gain from the university but also about why I am a strong candidate for the course. As indicated earlier, I have successfully gone through the mill as a 4 year British university student. In the course of this, I maintained a high level of academic discipline where I kept by score in the range of an A- grade. This achievement was done on fair academic grounds without ever getting myself into any forms of academic dishonesty, plagiarism or other offences. What is more, I have a positive attitude towards self-learning, which means that once selected for the course, I am going to position myself in a way that ensures that I grab concepts easily. Outside the classroom, I have a very rich background in extracurricular activities and skills all of which will come together to foster my strength in succeeding with the course. For example I have attended introductory courses in other parts of the world including China and learnt the basics of accounting there. This means that I bring to the PPM course, a multi-country experience of how projects and programmes should not just be managed but also accounted for. As a family person, my family has for long beien very supportive in my education right from the basic level. Coming from a background of a family business, my parents have been a major inspiration to me and have thought be the practical aspects of succeeding with business. Part of the practical training I have received from my parents is the need to ensure that I clearly plan out whatever I want to do and set clear achievable goals for them. Incidentally, I have come to learn that planning and goal setting are very critical in project and programme management (Stevens, 2002). This means that I can achieve transfer of learning based on my family business experience. To end it all, I would say I have tried hard to position myself for the professional job market but this positioning will be made more complete if I get the opportunity to undertake the PPM course at Warwick University. As it is now, I may be a good student but the best in me still remain uncovered. Painfully, the best in me may forever remain uncovered if I am not offered the opportunity to be part of such a great learning team as Warwick University. But once the opportunity is presented to me, I am going to put in my personal best to ensure that the efforts of my professors are made easier. References Stevens M. (2002). Project Management Pathways. London: APM Publishing Limited Warwick University (2015). Full time Masters (MSc) in Programme and Project Management. [Online] available at http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/education/wmgmasters/courses/masters_project_management/ Read More