Aerospace Engineering Motivation for KTH - the master's program at the University of Pisa, Italy

Motivation letter

Dear Sir/Madam,
With this letter, I am applying for the master's program in Space Engineering-2022/23, at the University of Pisa, Italy. This letter would contain within itself my goals, my motivation for choosing the MSSE program, and a brief story of my professional journey so far.

I am currently working as an Assembly, Integration & Testing Engineer in ******** PVT LTD. ******* is an aerospace startup based in India and is developing a range of aerial logistic solutions for Military & Civil purposes. As an AIT Engineer, I acquired experience in assembling the coaxial helicopter structure, development, and testing of propulsion & electronic systems for monitoring & power management. Being part of an early-stage startup brought me several opportunities from doing R&D on different subsystems of an aircraft to leading two different teams for assembly and testing. I was able to utilize my knowledge in mechanics, materials, flight dynamics, and coding and developed a fair understanding of emerging electric & hybrid propulsion systems. While working in this fast-paced environment, I became certain that I want to be a pioneer in the coming era of aerospace and I firmly believe that my experience will be an asset in the future journey of learning & contributing back.

I completed my Bachelor of Technology in Aerospace Engineering with specialization in Avionics from the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, INDIA; which is the first of its kind core sector-oriented university in my country. My courses are coherent to that of Aerospace engineering with subjects like Aerodynamics, Propulsion, Structures, Numerical methods, with the addition of subjects like 'Signals & Systems' and 'Digital Avionics'. Because I know these subjects at a rudimentary level, my interest piqued to experience new era propulsion technologies at a broader platform. My goal is to learn about space technologies and get experience in the best-in-class laboratories and KTH provides the exposure that I seek, as well as the supportive facilities and motivating environment to nurture my ambitions and give chance to be part of various space research projects.

I was always curious about the vastness of the sky and my aim was always to become a pioneer to make it available for everyone & for this reason, I chose Aerospace Engineering as a path to carve my future. In later years of high school, I realized that I want to do both. My first pragmatic experience with Aerospace was during my first year of bachelor's, where I participated in a fixed-wing RC aircraft modeling and flying competition. Inspired from actually flying model aircraft I took a deep dive to learn more. I learned cad and simulation to realize my ideas and did many projects. In my 4th semester, I developed a working model of 'Distributed Electric Propulsion' based aircraft with four electric thrusters for low-speed takeoff and high wing loading. Next year in my Minor project, I tried to utilize the Magnus effect to reduce the wing size and takeoff speed of aircraft. In-between my sophomore and third year, I worked on developing a solution for an increase in the number of Space-Debris in IIGP 2.0 a startup program by DST, India, and reached the finals. Later we presented our work at the 2018 AIAA Aviation Forum in Atlanta, United States. In the last year of my graduation, I worked on the development of a dynamic model of an Airship with six degrees of freedom. After completing my undergrad, I worked on a project to develop a design of a rover and supporting system for in-situ resource excavation on the Lunar surface, and later it got published in 2022 AIAA Scitech Forum.

Being a citizen of a developing country, I have realized that there are still many milestones that are needed to be achieved in order to provide an equal and easy life to all humanity. It's still a far goal for citizens from 2nd or lower tire cities and hilly areas to travel across the country as no nearby airport is there, however, with noble and efficient propulsion systems, economic and mid-range aircraft for developing countries can be developed which won't require expensive infrastructure for operation purposes. I hope to devote my professional life to this single goal of economic transportation for everyone.

I have been a scholar throughout my school life and later, I truly cherish my education; but my last few years have been about learning to balance projects with academics, finding myself as an individual away from home, and recognizing what I am professionally passionate about. In my current job, I find myself inclined towards the electric propulsion system and the factors behind its efficiency. Now that I have found where my interest lies. My goal is to become academically proficient in it to make it a solid ground for my career to stand on and to continue with research in this field later in life.

I am grateful for the opportunity to share my experiences and aspirations with you; I hope I could make my objectives clear in this letter. I appreciate your system that gives a platform to curious minds like mine. My credentials are mentioned in the attached CV, I would always be available through them to be notified about the status of my application.

Thanking you,

The first paragraph is a throw away. The introduction it provides does not move the essay forward and fails to inform the reviewer, who will not read that paragraph anyway. You need to hold his attention by immediately opening with an informative background paragraph. Start with the second paragraph. There is no sense in writing this essay as if you were writing a Task 2 IELTS test.


The reviewer needs only undergraduate related information from you. What happened during high school is irrelevant because you are already a working professional whose interests in academic development should be based on work experience. Remove this reference.

The essay is actually too long and in need of editing for clarity purposes. The paragraphs could be better compressed in presentation with the removal of several discussion points that only lengthen the presentation, but do not inform the reviewer.