Monir Uz Jaman

The winner of the Bangladeshi equivalent of the BBC’s The Apprentice is just about to complete the Masters course he won a place on after winning the televised competition.

The Future Leaders Ltd (The FLL) UK designed and organised the show which was screened at primetime on Bangladesh’s Channel I and offered the winner funding to study at postgraduate level at Essex.

Monir Uz Jaman was the winner of the top prize on the Future Leaders Programme (FLP) in Business 2012-13 and started his MSc Accounting and Financial Management at Essex Business School in October last year.

He initially had to keep the fact he had won a place at Essex a secret as the show was still being screened on national television in his home country.

He said: “This has been one of the best years of my life. The most amazing thing is to have the opportunity to make friends with students from all around the world. I’ve met so many people from so many backgrounds.

“Teaching has also been fantastic. I have never had the experience of learning in a seminar. For me to have the opportunity to give my views and develop my argument and then hear what others have to say has been wonderful.”

Monir completed his undergraduate degree at North South University in Bangladesh and was working for Japanese retail giant Uniqlo before entering the Future Leaders Programme. He then spent the next two months competing against Bangladesh’s brightest and most talented business people before winning the opportunity to study at the University of Essex.

Media attention has followed Monir over to the UK with a television crew from the Future Leaders Programme visiting the Colchester Campus to find out more about Monir’s experiences.

Since arriving at Essex, Monir has enjoyed working hard on his course, gaining a distinction for his most recent exams, and is now working on his dissertation while also completing an internship with charity Signpost. He has also taken the opportunity to join the University’s Islamic Society and travel widely around Europe thanks to Essex’s ideal location.

“I have never had to write so many essays, but I am pleased to have got good marks!” he said. “The teachers here are so friendly and make time to talk to you and I really appreciate that you have the chance to talk about the things which come up and your career.

“Essex also offers enormous opportunities for research. There is the huge library with lots of resources and then so many interesting topics to look at and discuss with your teachers. I think undertaking research is so important because you find out new things and contribute to our wider knowledge.”

Looking to the future Monir hopes to use his experiences from the Future Leaders Programme and his Essex Business School course to support leadership development in Bangladesh.

“My experiences from the whole competition have been quite amazing and I want to share that,” he said.

He added: “I would like to thank The Future Leaders Ltd for its initiative and collaboration with University of Essex and other partners which enabled me to gain such a life changing experience.”