STATEMENT OF PURPOSE TO GET ADMISSION in A MASTERS' of DATA SCIENCES PROGRAM
I was never a computer savvy. In fact, the first time I used a computer somewhere in 2001 as a teenager I was really scared to blow it. We never really had access to computers in my country XXXX at that time. We paid 2$ for an hour at the internet café and it was a luxury. Later, most schools had a computer room and we would learn basic Microsoft office for 30 minutes each week, with a terrible excitement.
I wasn't really sure I would have any interest in computers as an adult let alone programming. I moved to Ukraine to study economics for my bachelor's degree and bought my first computer with the money I made working in restaurants. Other than music and language I found a new interest in political economy while at university.
After a year teaching English and working for a talent agency in China, I was awarded the KDI School global ambassador scholarship to study public policy in Seoul, South Korea.
Public policy is a subject I am really passionate about. Although most of my siblings made it to college, our parents were working class people with no high school education. I come from a poor country were the government fails to provide basic public services to a population that lives mostly on less than a dollar a day.
I wanted to study development economics and understand why countries like South Korea achieved such progress with such speed while my country remained underdeveloped.
An essential part of my studies was statistical analysis. It quickly became a great interest of mine. I took a quantitative method class then an econometrics class designed for PHD students. I understood the persuasive power of data. It wasn't just speculating on a theoretical level it was testing and letting the data speak the truth. I was fascinated. If we were to change lives for the better with policy, it was crucial for me that we had quantifiable proof that what we do can work. My master thesis was research on panel data testing the correlation between energy policy in sub-Saharan Africa and energy poverty. I used programming with STATA to analyze a set of data from 24 countries with energy consumption as the dependent variable. The result of my research showed a positive correlation mostly, as my hypothesis suggested. I had earned a new passion.
However, my one-year scholarship program in Seoul wasn't enough for me to explore data science as much as I want.
I want to know more about data science to be able to work on broader topics including in the private sector. In the interim, I have started exploring R, logistic regression and other subjects online. As a policy analyst I am mostly interested in the quantitative analysis of policy issues. If I want to be convincing in my research I need to excel at data analysis. That is why I want to continue my education in data science.
The program offered by SMU covers exactly all that I'm curious about: data collection, data management, inference and even data mining.
I wasn't fortunate enough to be on the labor market in Korea but I believe a master's in data sciences at SMU will increase my chances in an industry I'm really passionate about. My ultimate goal is to have a doctorate degree in public policy and educate new generations of Africans on efficient methods of handling policy matters.
I recently moved to the U.S. and I can feel data science is more than a promising field. Not only is it applicable to public policy but also marketing, IT business, Healthcare and many other industries. As an African man I look forward to a century where data sciences can be used in order to make better policy both in the private and public sector. I am more than happy to be a part of such a revolution in business analysis and decision making.
I was never a computer savvy. In fact, the first time I used a computer somewhere in 2001 as a teenager I was really scared to blow it. We never really had access to computers in my country XXXX at that time. We paid 2$ for an hour at the internet café and it was a luxury. Later, most schools had a computer room and we would learn basic Microsoft office for 30 minutes each week, with a terrible excitement.
I wasn't really sure I would have any interest in computers as an adult let alone programming. I moved to Ukraine to study economics for my bachelor's degree and bought my first computer with the money I made working in restaurants. Other than music and language I found a new interest in political economy while at university.
After a year teaching English and working for a talent agency in China, I was awarded the KDI School global ambassador scholarship to study public policy in Seoul, South Korea.
Public policy is a subject I am really passionate about. Although most of my siblings made it to college, our parents were working class people with no high school education. I come from a poor country were the government fails to provide basic public services to a population that lives mostly on less than a dollar a day.
I wanted to study development economics and understand why countries like South Korea achieved such progress with such speed while my country remained underdeveloped.
An essential part of my studies was statistical analysis. It quickly became a great interest of mine. I took a quantitative method class then an econometrics class designed for PHD students. I understood the persuasive power of data. It wasn't just speculating on a theoretical level it was testing and letting the data speak the truth. I was fascinated. If we were to change lives for the better with policy, it was crucial for me that we had quantifiable proof that what we do can work. My master thesis was research on panel data testing the correlation between energy policy in sub-Saharan Africa and energy poverty. I used programming with STATA to analyze a set of data from 24 countries with energy consumption as the dependent variable. The result of my research showed a positive correlation mostly, as my hypothesis suggested. I had earned a new passion.
However, my one-year scholarship program in Seoul wasn't enough for me to explore data science as much as I want.
I want to know more about data science to be able to work on broader topics including in the private sector. In the interim, I have started exploring R, logistic regression and other subjects online. As a policy analyst I am mostly interested in the quantitative analysis of policy issues. If I want to be convincing in my research I need to excel at data analysis. That is why I want to continue my education in data science.
The program offered by SMU covers exactly all that I'm curious about: data collection, data management, inference and even data mining.
I wasn't fortunate enough to be on the labor market in Korea but I believe a master's in data sciences at SMU will increase my chances in an industry I'm really passionate about. My ultimate goal is to have a doctorate degree in public policy and educate new generations of Africans on efficient methods of handling policy matters.
I recently moved to the U.S. and I can feel data science is more than a promising field. Not only is it applicable to public policy but also marketing, IT business, Healthcare and many other industries. As an African man I look forward to a century where data sciences can be used in order to make better policy both in the private and public sector. I am more than happy to be a part of such a revolution in business analysis and decision making.
