Scholarship Spotlight: Zhengjing Shi

I’m currently studying Global Healthcare Management (Analytics) MSc and I am truly honoured to join the UCL Global Business School for Health as well as receive the Women Healthcare Leaders Scholarship.

My time in hospitals and in daily life has shown me how health systems sometimes overlook women’s needs and perspectives. This usually happens unintentionally. Simply because these perspectives are not always included in planning and decision-making. For example, I have seen female nurses and junior clinicians carry heavy workloads while having little say in departmental decisions. I have also seen working women delay their treatments due to long shifts, family responsibilities and financial pressure.

My academic and project experience has deepened my interest in strengthening health systems. Towards the end of my undergraduate studies, my capstone project, which involved market analysis and financial modelling, won first place among nearly 40 teams. I have also managed a homestay business through platforms such as Airbnb, where I learned to make data-driven decisions, understand customer needs and implement strategic plans. These experiences taught me how to analyse problems, lead teams and manage projects. These skills, I believe, will help me contribute to healthcare management.

I chose UCL GBSH because it is the world’s first business school dedicated to health. They unravel health challenges from a business perspective, which perfectly meets my undergraduate majors and interests. I hope to learn how health systems can make fairer decisions by considering everyone’s needs. I want to understand how data, organisational strategy and policy design can work together to improve access and outcomes for all people.

Receiving the Women Healthcare Leaders scholarship means a lot to me. It recognises my commitment to inclusive leadership in healthcare. It encourages me to continue advocating for better representation and more balanced decision-making in this field. And it motivates me to grow as a leader who brings diverse perspectives into planning, so that when policies and services are designed, every group can be seen and heard.