Dear all,
I am applying for my Masters in ''Sustainable Energy Technology'' at TU Eindhoven, Netherlands. I have written my statement of purpose. I humbly request you to kindly review and give me suggestions for making it better.
Thanks in advance:)
Statement of Purpose:
It is funny that sometimes in life, the most random moment can shape the course of your future. I am sure you would have had one too. For me, it was an incident during my second year, where I was forced to explain the functions of a wind turbine to visitors who passed by the stall, for my senior at our Annual student technical fest, ANOKHA. To see the turbine rotating in an unconventional axis drew my curiosity and attention. I decided to find answers as to why Vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) are not found as common and anywhere in India unlike the conventional three blade Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT).
My inspiration towards development of sustainable energy technologies also stems from various global movements such as, The Zeitgeist Movement-advocating transformation of society and its economic structure and The Venus Project-advocating sustainability in building future societies for all. The idea of Natural Resource Based Economy, as advocated by these movements, is a holistic socio-economic system where the world's energy would operate 100% by renewable energy. Such movements have largely influenced my inspiration towards pursuing a career in the field of sustainable energy.
I set out to revisit all the early work done on VAWT spanning research publications from SANDIA to AGARD. I learnt that the inability to predict complex aerodynamic interactions have underpinned the efficiencies of VAWT. I found Numerical simulations to be fascinating where one cannot build and experiment. I actively picked up Computational Fluid Dynamics as an elective course during my third year to learn further. My final year B.Tech thesis involved numerical analysis of a small scale vertical axis wind turbine. I arrived to a conclusion that preset pitch angle and aerofoil shape had significant effect on the aerodynamic torque.
On a more basic level, writing a thesis gave me a chance to learn the art of doing literature reviews, conducting and managing research in a profound manner. An excerpt of the thesis was published as a research paper in the International Journal of Renewable Energy Research (IJRER). In my opinion, no education is complete without putting theories into practice. I decided not to settle for any other job. I remembered a quote that I read in a book, '' Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life''. Fuelled by my own inspiration and criticism from friends & family, for not having secured a job under campus placement, I did not settle until I found Vaata Infra Ltd . I secured my job as a Junior Analyst in the Research & Development (R&D) wing.
Inspired by the talk of Richard Hamming, an American Mathematician, on ''You and Your Research'', I found research to be my inner calling. Two years in R&D, I was involved in the ongoing development of a 15kW, 2 blade H-type VAWT. I further enhanced my knowledge in conducting Aerodynamic analysis. I had the opportunity to develop analytical methods of estimating drag consumption due to the various supporting members. Apart from conducting numerical simulations, I explored and implemented the use of open source software's for studying different aerofoil. I believe working in partnership brings tangible benefits. I involved in setting up a collaborative research program for technology development on VAWT, between my undergraduate university and company. I was also responsible for conducting micro-siting analysis for the turbines. I utilized a training program on Wind resource assessment at the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), an autonomous R&D Institution under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, India. Towards my second year at work, I found myself delving into much broader questions such as; how to make small wind energy systems (SWE) penetrate in the market, what are the limiting factors that is holding the SWE development.
I realized that in developing economies like India, Industrialization is inevitable. It is also for the same reason that adopting sustainable technologies for energy production is a clever strategy concerning rapid global climate change and is a smart energy security option for India's future. There are never better saviors than the sun and wind. An ideal way to solving energy crisis of India would require different sustainable technologies to be strongly complementary. But sadly the knowledge of how to develop, implement and disseminate decentralized renewable energy technologies are still limited in many ways to India. Limited by energy efficiency, market structure, consumer awareness & interest, supportive policies and regulations; are areas to be worked on before renewable energy can become mainstream. Accomplishing these goals are highly complex and involves in-depth scientific approach. TU/e's Sustainable Energy Technology masters program, being highly interdisciplinary in nature, practical-oriented, high impact technology research themes on energy crisis are among the many things that draws me in here.
I am really excited about professor Rob Raven's research themes on sustainability transition in India, and found to be highly relevant to my future research interests. The Technology, Innovation and society subgroup, under the school of Industrial Engg and Innovation sciences are a potential match. The various research themes, such as on strategic niche management for example, under the collaboration of Eindhoven Centre for Innovation Sciences (ECIS) have further crystallized my interest to pursue my masters at TU/e. Drawing commendable values from my friend Deepak Nirmal, who is currently pursuing sustainable energy technology masters at TU/e has made my decisions very concrete.
I bring along a unique research experience on wind turbines, solid knowledge in new product development, technical design documentation, computational analysis and a zest of teamwork which will enrich the teaching and learning activities through class and lab discussions as well as promote TU/e international academic networks. I also feel confident in bringing diversity to the program through my interdisciplinary education. I am fully conscious of the commitment, steadiness and perseverance required for TU/e graduate program. I am looking forward to embark on my new journey through my masters program.
your statement is perfect. i'd like to remind you of a little tiny inaccuracies. 1、maybe you could use the quotation mark in English style,just like ''. 2、the last sentence, 'looking forward to embarking on'could be better.
thank you. maybe what i said is not correct.
Bose, your essay will seem perfect at the onset, but then, as one takes into consideration the way that a masters degree admissions officer mind works, the flaws in your shared information, not necessarily your writing style, become evident. I noticed a few informative shortcomings in your statement of purpose that you should address.
While I understand that the experience you are discussing in this essay stem from your junior and senior years in college, as well as your most recent work experience, there is a lack of information regarding the true purpose of your interest in higher studies. As a masters degree student, most importantly, as a person working in a related research field, you should have some sort of indication as to the reason why you opted to pursue higher studies at this point. What point are you in career that warrants the additional teaching and training in the area? Do you have a specific sustainable energy project in mind that you feel you wish to pursue in order to help advance the field?
Think about it this way, as a masters degree student, you should not be looking towards your future research interests but rather, your most likely research interest that will be a part of your masters thesis. The reviewer needs to know what the relation of the university abilities have with your potential to create a change in the field. What shortcomings do you feel exist that need to be given ample attention and how can the university help you achieve that? My suggestion is that you look into the research of the professors that you mention, then create a tentative thesis statement that will relate to the research of that professor. That way you show the university that you may just have the potential to not only help their professor as a future research assistant, but also help put their university on the map because of your combined research results.
By the way, another way to enhance your chances for consideration at this point would be to mention any awards and accolades, or published work that you might have under your belt. The reviewers give serious consideration and heavy thought to applications that contain government recognition or published work. Don't waste your opportunity to heighten your chances at admission if you can.
Keep in mind that a masters degree student is setting out to further improve his abilities for the betterment of his current field or community. That is the voice that these reviewers are looking for. Reflecting that in your essay will be a big help to your application.
