Writing a motivational letter to Tribos- ERASMUS programme in Tribology of Surfaces.

application for MSc in Mechanical Engineering

Motivation letter
The unfortunate tragedy of the ironically considered unsinkable ship, the Titanic had always made me wonder the reasons that might have led to its sinking. Even with a little understanding of Materials, I was aware of the fact that generally ships withstand resting in the water for days. The curiosity to research on this topic and find answers to some of the unanswered questions of mine, I took up a project on the 'Material failure of the Titanic' during my undergraduate studies. After digging in deep on the same, I found out that if Nickel would have been added in the rivets used to clamp the hulls of the Titanic instead of Sulphur, the ship might have stood for longer and thousands of people would have been saved. There are many other examples which drive me towards Material Science, and I cannot wait to attain more knowledge about the same.

The contributions that I have made towards my academics and extra-curricular activities have always been par excellence. Having been a great learner from the very beginning, I was always inclined towards science. As I topped my school at the senior secondary level in the field of science in 2014, I got more motivated to pursue Mechanical Engineering in India's famed research intensive institute, VIT, Vellore.

During the first two years of my undergraduate studies, I mastered the concepts of different kinds of material, be it bulk properties or surface chemistry by studying subjects like Material Science, Material and Instrumentation Technology and Surface Engineering.

In order to augment the theoretical knowledge about the field, I went on to enhance my learning through an industrial experience. I was selected for the in-plant training in India's one of the leading battery producing companies, Amara Raja Batteries Ltd, for a duration of one month, to have a growth-oriented exposure towards electrochemistry involved in the working of automotive batteries. I was exposed to the manufacturing of Lead-Cadmium batteries where I introduced a new idea, kaizen, for the betterment of battery production line. Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy adopted to improve working practices continuously. I was highly appreciated by the Vice Chairman of automotive batteries department for my creative approach towards increasing the efficiency of plate formation section. It was then that I discovered my problem-solving abilities.

It was in the third year of my undergraduate studies when I began documenting my research and publishing papers. I started with my first research in the field of the Manufacturing Process. The joy of working on an idea and researching to prove the same made me realize that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I presented my paper on "Optimization of WEDM (Wire Electric Discharge Machining) process during machining of Al-Al2O3 composite using Taguchi based Grey Relational Analysis" in ICDAMS 2018, an International conference, held at Saveetha School of Engineering, Chennai, India, in 2018. In this project, a multi-objective algorithm was developed to optimize surface roughness and tool wear for which I was awarded the best research award. All my hard work finally paid off when my work was published in an International Journal, [IOB: doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201817204008] in 2018, featuring my name which filled me with immense pride and confidence.

During one of the lectures of tribology taught by Dr Geetha Manivasagam, I was introduced to the fascinating domain of wear and corrosion and how they can have both synergistic as well as antagonistic effects. Every lecture of that course, whether it was about superhydrophobic coatings or power of nanotechnology, was an unforgettable and unrealistic experience for me. I realized that the course in a way awakened my thirst to discover the secret doorways leading me to unfold the mysteries of materials. Tribology had my heart from that day onwards. I have always admired and respected researchers for their contributions towards the pool of information in the field. My aspiration for research and thirst for exploiting new avenues in the field of tribology let me take up the study of Tribocorrosion of Biomaterials for my final year project in my undergraduate studies. I got a rare opportunity to work under the supervision of Dr. Geetha Manivasagam, Director of Centre for biomaterials, cellular and molecular theranostics (CBCMT), VIT, India. I successfully constructed the tribocorrosion setup by integrating ball-on-flat reciprocatory wear tester with the three-electrode system. The resulted equipment was one of its kind and the efforts were applauded by Ducom Instruments Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru- A tribology company and that is how I discovered my passion towards Tribology and electrochemical corrosion which has a great research potential.

After my undergraduate studies, I realized that I would need more knowledge in the field to extend my skills to discovering more about Tribology and electrochemical corrosion and their impacts on Materials. Thus, I registered for a summer term and continued my research at my university. I read wear, corrosion and their synergistic effect in depth and introduced a unique protocol for tribocorrosion testing and presented a poster on the title "Effects of proteins on the tribocorrosion behavior of Ti-6Al-4V", in BioMET, an international conference held at VIT, India in June 2018. Meeting with dedicated researchers across the globe in a research-driven environment, the conference won me some unforgettable days of my life. There is nothing more exciting than coming up with an idea and working towards developing it to prove the hypothesis. I want to come out of the barriers now, and extend my footsteps towards the deeper world of Materials.

Masters program is a doorway to pursue a Ph.D. degree so that I can enrich myself with deep subject knowledge to be a proficient Professor. When I came to know that the TRIBOS-A joint master programme in Tribology of surface and Interfaces provides the students with the high-level of contemporary knowledge to tackle the tribological related problem and is defined in an excellent way to offer deep theoretical as well as industrial experience. I stand strongly that the program offers the perfect blend of courses so that it could be a rigid foundation on which the zenith of my career may lie. With a burning desire to learn more and venture ahead in my favorite field, I wish to apply for the graduate program, MSc in Mechanical Engineering that may ultimately stretch my passion.

You have written a very strong academic background essay, but it does not provide the required information for an Erasmus Mundus motivational letter. You should have only taken several notable aspects from your undergraduate education that would have proven the complementing aspects of your undergraduate studies with the course requirements of the masters program.

Aside from that, you should also have indicating some professional reference in your essay that could have shown the relation of your professional interest to the program. Explain your professional skills as they relate to your interest in the program and how it proves that you are a strong candidate for the program. Once you combine your academic and professional strengths, you consideration points will be more considerable. While your internship skills and experience with Dr. Manavasagam are notable, a more realistic profession relate explanation would have created a more convincing motivation for your desire for higher studies. What is it that you want to do in the future? What factors led to that motivation?

I want to read information about your education, internships, professional experience, and motivations that pops on the page. I want information that makes you a memorable applicant. I need information that is not uniform when compared to the other applicants. Your current motivational letter doesn't stand out because of the sole focus on education without relating it to the program requirements. Once you balance those presentation points, the essay just might pop and become impressive enough to use as your application motivational letter.

Thank you for your time.
I do not have any professional experience although I worked in my university's laboratory during my thesis research. Should I mold this as a professional experience?

Taking your suggestion into account, I will try to add some more points about the Erasmus program to make it more effective.

Take your university experience at the training lab during your thesis research and frame it into a strength that ties in directly with the requirements of your chosen program. Use the skills that you developed in both practical and theoretical aspects to highlight your skills as both a student, researcher, and trained person. Use the term trained person because that is not a professional experience, it can be considered more of a skills development aspect of your education which should help highlight your skills and training to complete the program. If you can relate it to specific program requirements then all the better. The professional aspect is not really a requirement, but it could have helped to increase your related skills and program coordinated considerations. It's not a big deal if you cannot present it. I was just thinking of ways that you could make your essay more interesting and thus, memorable to the reviewer.