Areebah Maqsood

About Areebah Maqsood

I have always considered myself to have a global perspective and outlook, which is the primary factor for my interest in International Business. Unlike most other subjects I have studied, Business forces me to look at things globally, which is crucial as our economy becomes more globalised and, through advances in technology, the world becomes more connected.

, I believe I have exceptional leadership skills, proven by being selected for the role of head business prefect. Some of my responsibilities consist of describing the course to aspiring A level students and their parents on 6th form open evening and introducing the Tycoon enterprise competition to the Lower Sixth. I was luckily given the opportunity to partake in this competition in my L6 year and found it very beneficial. Through the Peter Jones foundation, we wrote a business plan, were lent a small sum of money and started trading, competing with other student businesses. A few of my friends and I created a mental health box business which we thought would be profitable during the pandemic and multiple lockdowns, as people could show their support to their loved ones through our product. This enabled me to develop my entrepreneurial skills and bring the theory aspect of my A level business course to life as financial manager, creating a cash flow forecast, finding the most efficient sources to supply from and so on. This venture also assisted in improving my teamwork skills.

In addition, I enjoy advancing my knowledge outside of school. Therefore this lead me to completing a MOOC on ‘User innovation and entrepreneurship.’ Personally, I found this course very challenging as it went into depth into a concept I had not previously heard of. Nonetheless, I found the course very interesting, particularly because the assignments and assessments were significantly different to those I complete in school. I discovered that, as stated by Eric von Hippel, innovation is rapidly becoming democratised. And that users aided by improvements in computer and technology can develop their own products and services. These innovating users will often share their innovation with others, creating user innovation communities and a rich intellectual commons. This gave me a new insight into the distribution process and how a product can initially stem from a person creating it solely for their use, as shown by the Steadicam and the Khan Academy streaming service.