Postgraduate Information

Management
Scholarships Application form
Scholarships are open to all potential students regardless of domicile or programme being applied
for. Last year, we had more than one million pounds to award to the brightest and best students.
Scholarship awards were typically 50% of the programme fees.

Once you have submitted your programme application to the Admissions Team, you are eligible to
apply for a scholarship. By completing the application below, you will be considered. It is helpful to
us for you to have already formally applied to the programme before submitting your scholarship
application because this gives us more supporting information. If you are awarded a scholarship, you
will be given a deadline by which you need to accept it. Once you have formally accepted your offer
of a place and paid the deposit, the scholarship amount will be deducted from your tuition fees.

If you are a University of Reading Undergraduate, or alumnus who graduated in the last three years,
you are not only eligible for an alumni discount but could also be awarded a scholarship on top.

Scholarships are awarded on a rolling basis and applicants are therefore advised to submit their
application as early as possible in order to be considered for a scholarship.

Please complete the following form and email it to

caroline.webb@henley.ac.uk

Required fields are marked with a *

Details
Title Mr.

First name* Derrick

Last name* Diaba

Telephone +233244304761

Email* desdym@gmail.com

Country of Ghana
residence*

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Student 26829245
application
number

Do you hold an Y
offer on the
programme*

Programme you MSc Management Information Systems [Full Time]

have applied for*

Explain what contribution you think you will make to the wider Henley Business School
community (maximum 2500 characters)

I had been intrigued by the critical role big data analytics now plays in business decision
making processes for an number of organization worldwide since I was introduce to the field
of Data Science on Coursera some 4 years back. I had subsequently made a number attempts
at getting a postgraduate degree in Big Data & Data Analytics and its impact on sustainable
business performance and growth, my several attempts have been hampered by the need to
resign from my work, which provides financial support for myself and family, and travel out of
Ghana as there is no single university in Ghana that offers a Master’s program in business
analytics. The few programs that could be read online were super expensive and outside of
my current pay grade.

I did some investigation into other locally available programs like Masters in IT and
Management information Systems from other universities in Ghana to see if their orientation
at least leans towards a study in Data Science and analytics for business growth, but these
effort did not yield much results, as all of the schools I contacted were running generic IT
programs with no specific leanings to my area of interest.
The closest I came across is the University of Reading program in Management information
systems, a program driven by the Henley Business School in collaboration with the University
of Ghana Business School. Having gone through the course outline, I am expectant to have
gained some insight into business analysis and it importance to business growth in today’s
fast paced business environment.
I consider my admission a great opportunity to study a contemporary subject in one of the
highly rated and best performing business schools in the world, and will make every minute
as a student of Henley business school count, not just for me or my career and business, but
also for the entire Henley business school community and the world.
Next to reading, my other hobbies include writing, and researching into new areas of
knowledge. I have authored a number of articles that have been widely read especially on
LinkedIn publishing – an online publishing site by LinkedIn Inc. My articles mostly delve into
the technical world of mobile communications and computer networking, I share insights into
my work as a network technology expert in solving critical network challenges or breaking
down key network concept to the understanding of my readers. I have also written some
articles on project management in the technological space and this has benefitted over 2000
readers who have consistently looked forward to my articles on LinkedIn publishing.

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I intend to place this research and writing ability to benefit the Henley business community by
publishing many relevant and inspiring articles on available online sites hosted by Henley
and/or patronized by the entire Henley business school community. My articles will help
improve on the standard operating procedures that govern the school as well as writing
relevant content for fellow technical student.
Being a student leader whilst studying for my diploma certificate in telecommunication with
Ho Technical University has taught me the importance of student politics. I have built on that
experience since and now lead team to achieve my feats both for my organization and
Church. My unique approach to leading people to achieve great result will again come to play
as a proud student of the Henley Business School community, through my active participation
in student leadership at Henley Business school, and leading the student community into
community activism, which will see the Henley student community intervene in critical social
matters like sanitation and portable water availability to a lot of persons in Ghana.
Becoming a Henley Business School alumni is a privilege worth looking forward to, and it’s a
privilege I will utilized to the benefit of the school. I intent on becoming a promoter of the
school not only in Ghana, but to the benefit of internet users worldwide. My positive
experiences at Henley will be blended into my articles post-graduation and will be used to
promote the school to the internal community. I look forward to founding and becoming the
first local chapter president of the Henley business School Alumni society in Ghana.
To end, I am honoured to be a prospective member of the Henley business school
community, and will not resist an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the progress of
the community and its members.

Explain why you believe you should receive a scholarship (maximum 2500 characters)

Having had my first degree in Computer Engineering, I had set my eyes on a Master’s
program that will be relevant to business growth and success in Ghana, and by
extension the African continent.

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With good knowledge of the incredible role Information technology plays in the
success stories of today’s buoyant businesses, and the transforming effect it has had
on businesses in Europe, Asia and the Americas, there is little doubt that Africa seems
to be the last continent to have embraced the true potential of Information
technology for the benefit of businesses on the continent.

Business foresight and insight are perhaps the most important determinants in having
some good competitive edge in today’s business environment. The ability to predict
customer behaviour with some good degree of accuracy, makes a big difference
between a truly transformational organization, and one that is stagnant with no
prospects of future growth.

Business Intelligence, and its successor, Big data analytics have been pivotal in the
prediction of customer needs and behaviour and promises to be the engine of growth
for today’s businesses globally.

This makes the work of a business analyst very critical in contemporary business
arena, and like in all other sectors, Africa seems to be playing catch up with the rest of
the world in building the capacity of its workers to properly dive and drive through
data and pick out trends that will help with decision making for business success.

It is for this reason that I opted for the MSc Management Information Systems
program with the Henley Business School as it is the only MIS program in Ghana with
a business analysis focus. This means I will be part of a rare group of professionals
who can manipulate data beyond what the traditional business Intelligent (BI) tools
can achieve and gain insight into what works and what doesn’t work for businesses in
Ghana.

Sponsoring me for a breakthrough program like the MSc MIS (Business Intelligence
and Data Mining) with the Henley Business School is an investment not only into the
life of an individual, but the salvaging of many businesses in Ghana and perhaps in
Africa, that faces the eminent danger of collapsing as a result of the implementation
of poor business decisions that are not backed by empirical models.

Successfully completing this program will help me achieve the innate desire of setting
up a not-for-profit organization that will advise businesses on how the use of IT could
benefit them in streamlining services, forecasting growth, measuring performance
and improving the audit process of these organization.

African business will one day take their rightful place on world economy, and
sponsoring my MSc programme in management information systems in a good step
at achieving this. Looking forward to favourable response to my application.

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Terms and conditions
Scholarship applications are reviewed by the Henley Business School Scholarship Panel who will base
their decisions on a range of factors including academic excellence and the degree to which the
student has demonstrated their suitability for an award. Scholarship offers are made as fee
reductions. The exact scheduling of those may be obtained from us upon request. If applicants are
offered multiple awards, only one can be accepted. Scholarship offers are currently being made for
the academic year 2018/19 and are fully confirmed once winners have paid their deposits and
formally accepted their place on the programme.

Please email your completed form to

caroline.webb@henley.ac.uk