SOP for Masters in Computer Science with Interest in Computer Vision and Machine Learning

Hi All,

I would be really grateful if anyone could please review my SOP.

'sweat, determination and hard work'

I have constantly been motivated by the thought "A dream doesn't become a reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work". From childhood, learning has been my very objective. It is this vision that encourages me to apply for masters in the arena of Computer Science. Post completion of my program, I envision myself to be engaged in a challenging work environment that endeavors to make the world a better and smart place to coexist in.

Having a knack for learning new programming languages since tenth grade, I have been naturally inclined towards the field of computers. My fascination for coding at school level was instrumental in laying the path for my future goals and aspirations. Motivation and intellectual potential are the qualities I have never lacked and as a result of which, I was able to secure admission in one of the prestigious engineering institutions of India- Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology. Governed by the spirit to learn and assimilate, I have managed to perform exceptionally well in academics, which is reflected in my resume as well. I have consistently being among top 3 students during my entire studies.

During the course of my undergraduate studies, I learnt of the many facets of computer science and their applications. Of all the streams, Computer Vision excited me the most. Graphics that made the impossible possible in movies, the mystery behind three-dimensional games, image enhancement that created wonders. I have always felt that though theoretical knowledge is important, practical application through projects and internships allows for experiential learning and knowledge enhancement.

In my junior year, I enrolled for a training course on Oracle Technology where I implemented the database for an Employee Management System using SQL, PL/SQL and Oracle. My work here was very informative and exposed me to the real time working of database concepts. After the third year of my undergraduate studies, I took up internship in Infrastructure Development & Management Division of TCS, where I got the opportunity to work on various networking devices.Encouraged to explore more areas of Computer Science, I took up developing "College Management System" as my final year project using ASP.net for front end and SQL, PL/SQL for back end. The details of my internships and projects are listed on my resume.

As a full time employee with Samsung, I worked on the camera module of Android mobiles. My work involved integrating camera sensors and implementing new features. Working in the camera domain, I was exposed to the application of machine learning algorithms in object detection and recognition, image segmentation, style transfer, video tagging. I was fascinated by the way Machine Learning algorithms could change the functional capability of mobile cameras. Initially, naive algorithms based on Bayesian classifiers were being used for face detection. But with the advancement of more sophisticated hardware, complex algorithms based on neural networks are now being used which not have not only increased the processing speed but have also improved the image quality.

With my next employer, Aristocrat Technologies, I got the opportunity to work on the development of digital games. Here I got to witness the development of computer animations which fascinated me a lot. My experience of working in the multimedia domain of Android mobiles and in the gaming industry further developed my interest in the field of Computer Vision. There is a lot of research work going on in this area and this is where I would like to spend my efforts. Apart from academics, I have actively participated in extracurricular activities. I actively participated in debates, quiz, art and basketball competitions in school. I volunteered in organising technical and cultural fest of my undergraduate college. I was co-head and head of the organizing committee for technical and cultural fest respectively.

I feel that ETH Zurich with its comprehensive facilities and competent faculty doing quality research work in the field of Computer Vision will be the ideal place for me to pursue graduate studies. Studying overseas in your esteemed institution will provide me a chance to exploit my potential to the hilt. I am intrigued by the research works of Prof. Gross and Prof. Pollefeys. I would like to gain significant research experience and deeper understanding of the subjects under their guidance to achieve substantial results in this research area.

I would be honored if given a chance to pursue master's program at your institution preferable with a financial aid/assistantship. My experiences listed above suggest discipline, self-motivation and commitment. I ensure that being focused, motivated and a great team player, I will be an asset to the institution.

Parika, your essay is more of a personal statement than a statement of purpose. There are bits and pieces that you can use for the statement of purpose, specifically paragraphs 3-6 in relation to your academic and professional preparations for the course. The main problem with your essay is that you stress heavily on your potential to complete the course based on your academic and technical training, but you do not give a clear purpose for your desire for higher academic study. As a continuing education student, you need to have a clear direction, or purpose, for the additional training. This is something that can relate to your future career goals or promotion possibilities at your office, or the potential to spin off into a different or connected career within the next 5 years. You have to reflect something along those lines in the presentation. Additionally, you have to create a stronger reason or purpose for overseas studies at this university. Convince the reviewer that there is absolutely no way that the masters training you will receive in your country can compare or improve your theoretical and practical skills in a manner that this university can. That will help to explain why you chose this university in particular, which is a requirement of the statement of purpose. With any luck, you can edit your essay based upon my observations, using the parts from this version that are applicable, in order to create a new, more appropriate draft statement of purpose for your application.