Scholarship / 'Our legacy' - Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Statement of Purpose on Strategic Project Management [2]

Hey guys, I wrote an initial draft of the 1000 word SOP for the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship on Strategic Project Management. I feel like I need improvements like mentioning more about the program and maybe less about myself. But I would really appreciate some assistance, please try to help me find places where I could be less verbose, thanks.

My grandfather always used to mention how our legacies should never end with our death, our legacy should be a dynasty that defines an entire era. Many firms in Bangladesh can't prosper due to lack of efficient management, they lack the formulation of proper strategies that could help them prosper on the international stage. Investing money is not directly proportional to prosperity, you need to know how to strategize your investment as well as capacity management. Only a smart and efficient combination and culmination of hard work and proper strategy could result in proper project management. For me the process of learning strategic project management means to learn not only how to formulate efficient strategies to manage projects but also how to implement those strategies through competent methods. Although I have tried to follow such ideologies through various phases of my life, primarily through scheduling, understanding and proper management, learning on an academic and practical level would prove to be a step towards my ultimate goal of restructuring the way Asian countries look at project management in general.

During high school, I engaged myself in a multitude of activities from debate to being editor of the school newspaper as well as maintaining commendable grades in my studies which could be done only through proper scheduling. I scheduled all my tasks properly and followed through accordingly. Whenever I missed the completion of a task, I would make up for it by providing extra hours for it's completion. This led to successful stints as a National Television Debating Champion, the Editor-in-Chief of the School Newspaper and even commendable results during my O levels. I realized the importance of an efficient strategy when I failed to schedule my tasks accordingly during my A levels which led to rather mediocre results. I have since stringently tried to adhere to my schedules however I also found out during my college years how vital proper understanding of circumstances is.

From the very beginning of my Freshman Year, I realized how vital it was to understand and assess a situation properly. From understanding the subject to the students and their capabilities as well as the teacher and his method of teaching and assessment, all were essential in understanding a course and attaining a commendable grade and would require adept research. Unfortunately sometimes my research was not comprehensive enough and my grades faltered. Assessing a given project and finding it's main components, aligning those with my own strengths and solving the project's main problems through this alignment has always been my forte. To this end I was able to graduate with a well-deserved cumulative grade point average, which was among the top 10% of my graduating class of 35 students with a Computing Science and Engineering degree. And although proper research is required to get good grades, I realized hard work is an evident and vital factor.

No amount of understanding and scheduling involving a project could surmount to any final product in the absence of hard work. Hard work is essential to progress in studies as well as professional life and I realized that when I became an undergraduate teaching assistant during my Junior Year. Accompanied by scheduling and a proper understanding of the courses I was assigned to, I had to work twice as hard to be an efficient teaching assistant and a credible student. Working 30 hours a week as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant at both the Engineering and the English department as well as maintaining respectable grades required an enormous effort on my part. My grades did falter at times due to insufficient effort on my part primarily during the end of my Junior Year when my mom was diagnosed with a benign tumor and I had to take care of her. However I was able to pull them back up through hard work, sometimes studying in the dimly-lit hallways of the hospital during her treatment. Hard work did help me sustain progress in my studies and professional life later on but the ability to adapt helped me excel.

The ability to adapt to any situation is vital in every aspect of life, not just professional and academic. Although I was bad at initially adapting to sudden changes such as surprise examinations, with time I became more adept at it. When I was the Head of Content at Lamudi Bangladesh, there was an instance when the website was hacked and the data was jumbled up. Through careful management of each individual in my team, using their strengths and weaknesses and adapting those to the requirements of solving the problem, a solution was formulated and implemented swiftly. After Lamudi, I joined Synesis IT and then DNet, in both cases I joined the business development sector and was able to seamlessly adapt to the new environment and job responsibilities. Currently working at DNet as a Business Development Manager, I manage a team of competent individuals in carrying out relevant research to formulate and implement adept strategies and proposals for expanding our organization, primarily through challenging traditional business norms and ethics. This has helped Dnet attain various international projects such as Missing Child Alert (MCA), beating international organizations such as Microsoft.

Although I might have exhibited various traits that are vital to proper Strategic Management of projects at a relatively young age, they are still nascent and need nourishment through both academic and professional exposure. Unfortunately I do not possess the necessary monetary prowess to seek that necessary exposure. I am thus seeking help through the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship to provide me with the opportunity to build my own legacy as my maternal grandfather wanted me to. Through exposure to the various European cultures as well as professional and academic exposure, I will attain the knowledge and experience to disseminate to organizations in Bangladesh so that they can gain an identity on the international stage. Thus creating a legacy by instilling innovative methods of strategic management in a country where such methods are non-existent.

Is it too over the top? Is it too bad? I really would appreciate a few pointers guys! :)

Graduate / 'providing enough for those who have too little' - UBC SOP Graduate Admissions in Computer Science [8]

Hey Guys so I just started writing the SOP for my graduate admissions to UBC. Any ideas? Do you think it is good so far?

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." -Franklin D. Roosevelt

As I stared through the window, looking upon the horizon into the edge of the night, I wondered where my life was headed. I had just finished writing a twenty-five thousand line code for an android app to be used by a multinational organization. I was tired and hungry, but most of all I was unhappy. I wasn't content with who I was and what I was doing. As a corporate slave, the Head of IT at Lamudi Bangladesh, I was reduced to toiling hours into working strictly for profit. But I did not fall in love with technology because I saw profit, but rather because I saw a solution. A solution to so many problems that plague our society. An avenue to catalyze progress. No longer wanting to be a corporate slave, I decided to change my job and pursue a Masters degree.

I realized that attaining a Masters degree would help me evolve, progress on a personal level. After wasting a year toiling as a corporate savant, I realized that I wanted to dedicate my life to research: research on developing solutions that could be use be used to solve social issues through the use of technology. I changed my career to play a more active role in developing solutions for social problems with a focus on technology. And although I have professional experience, I need the necessary academic and research experience to alleviate various troubling social issues.

I remember walking back home every night from work, amidst the cold, dark streets riddled with confusion. When I decided to pursue a Masters degree and change my career though, things finally made sense. I felt clarity. For Four years during my undergraduate degree I would wake up and feel lost most days. Studying for eight hours a day, attending fifteen hours worth of classes every week and arduously working on various assignments for months kept me busy but it never helped me project substantial impact upon anyone's life. I was empty in my pursuits. The only time I ever felt content was when I would be working on my course project. The idea of learning a new programming language and actually using it to solve a problem that I felt needs to be addressed, always stimulated me, it kept me happy and focused. I would focus on incorporating the latest practices of the language I learned into my project to increase my project's efficacy. My innovative approach towards projects and ardent work helped me attain a Fifty percent merit-based financial aid during my Sophomore year which I maintained till the end of my undergraduate tenure. Whether it was making a simple notepad for color blind people using Java or helping the guards at our university with an automated parking system using C, my projects aimed to alleviate problems I witnessed every day. My Senior Year thesis therefore, provided me with an ample opportunity to solve a problem I had been witnessing for a prolonged period.

Scholarship / Erasmus Mundus Letter of Motivationon Information Technologies for Business Intelligence [2]

The other Erasmus Mundus Statement of Purpose was on Strategic Project Management. I am applying to three programs in total. This is the second one. It stated that I need to upload a cover letter instead of a statement of purpose which was wanted in the Strategic Project Management degree. I treated them the same way as it would be incredibly difficult to put an SOP into a cover letter format with less words.

"A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers." -Plato

Nearly 2400 years ago, the Greek philosopher, Plato, was able to adeptly define how decisions ought to be made. The world of today is dependent on information to a large extent. The progress and sustainability of large institution as well as society as a whole, depend on the collection, organization, analysis and interpretation of information. Many organizations lack the capability of representing data in the form of meaningful information. As someone whose entire professional and academic career has been built upon generating knowledge from information, I intend on pursuing a career focused on being the bridge between information and knowledge on an international platform.

Back in 2013, I started my professional career at Lamudi Bangladesh, a concern of the international organization, Rocket Internet. Although I started off as a content executive, exhibiting exceptional performance ensured that I become the Head of Content and Communications within the first two months. At Lamudi, a lot of my time was devoted towards gathering data through Google analytics, analyzing the data and transforming them into tools that could be used for strategy formulation. Monitoring site traffic, visitors, responses, client demands, performing competitor analysis and various other factors were utilized as catalysts to help surmise future trends leading to decisions for the successful sustenance and evolution of the business. The year I spent as a part of Lamudi Bangladesh helped develop and capacitate me to seek a career in business development.

Business development, as I learned and am still learning from my professional career, is reliant heavily upon the interpretation of information. However I also learned that business development and sustenance relies upon several other factors namely proper management of various business processes, business modelling as well as surmising the viability of a project among others. Furthermore high efficacy in communication and representation of data were essential to ensure that the masses can comprehend your approach. I worked as a Senior Business Development Executive, leading the Business Development sector of a multinational IT firm, Synesis IT, for six months during which tenure I learned how to design and implement various business processes. And although I stumbled and faltered at the beginning, through apt research and information organization, I was able to devise effective solutions and in the process, make key decisions that would lead to better development of projects. One of the biggest projects that I designed and helped implement would be a National Telehealth Resource Center. The knowledge and skillset gained through this tenure proved to be very helpful when I joined Dnet, a multinational social enterprise and solutions developer as the Business Development Manager, where I have been working for the past 6 months. My project proposals now carried a greater deal of efficacy as I learned how to organize information in a more intelligible way and be more analytical in my formulation of business models and strategies. However I realized that I do lack exposure to substantial international platforms both academically and professionally.

After thoroughly studying the different aspects of and the various avenues that Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree Programme in Information Technologies for Business Intelligence i.e. IT4BI programme has to offer, I have to come to believe that it provides the most reliable solution to the dilemma I am suffering from and can ultimately help me in achieving my goal of becoming a successful entrepreneur of my own international organization. The programme will help guide me in various fields ranging from analytics to data mining, web services to big data, software engineering to decision modeling and most importantly, innovation and entrepreneurship. I admire how the programme emphasizes focus on decision engineering as one of the core specialization, a domain that must be explored to help in continuous improvement of organizations. Having studied in Computer Science and Engineering, I have never hesitated to indulge in other forms of avenues to practice decision engineering. My stints as a Team Leader at AIESEC, a National Debater at the Debate Club as well as the Chief Editor of the University Newspaper have all tasked me to take only informed decisions. Furthermore, acting as an undergraduate teaching assistant for two years since my Junior year, I had to make many informed academic decisions regarding grading assignments and quizzes of students. Being the pioneer in covering the various scientific and technological fields supporting Business Intelligence systems in Europe, the IT4BI programme therefore offers the best possible avenue for me to learn Business Intelligence and decision engineering thereby creating my own identity on a global platform.

Though I have a propensity for information, it stems from harsh lessons I suffered during my academic career primarily. During my Junior year, I received two Cs because I was unable to properly organize the information I had in my hand. I was, however, able to bounce back from this momentary setback in spite of a rigorous work schedule, working thirty hours a week as an undergraduate teaching assistant for the Engineering and the English department. I graduated within the top four students out of class of 53 graduating students within my department and my thesis played a large role in it.

My Senior Year research was on the "Automation of a Cafeteria and multiple processes in a University through Near Field Communication (NFC)." I was able to adopt my own perspective on innovation which is in lieu with the approach of the degree which is "Innovation through Research." My approach was well applauded by my peers, as I took into account both the information on consumer demands and similar work done previously, and I was able to add more features to the research to ensure it would be applicable in most universities in the world. I realized though, that I require a greater level of understanding to actually conduct and publish an original research that could contribute to the wider field of study. As the Masters Thesis for the IT4BI programme is done through placement in the industry or through an internship, a hands-on, practical approach coupled with the theoretical knowledge gained, I believe would provide the best option for me to follow if I want to learn and use my knowledge at the same time.

Finally, through exposure to world class institutes namely, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Université François Rabelais Tours, Ecole Centrale Paris, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, and Technische Universität Berlin, residing in Belgium, France, Spain, and Germany, provides me with the chance to attain knowledge from various cultures, environments, people and Europe as a whole. Integrating these personal experiences with the quality of education received from leading professors and the vast network provided by partner organizations and the program itself, as well as an advanced curriculum could capacitate me to fulfill my dreams. I would like to reaffirm my belief that a Master's degree in Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree Programme in Information Technologies for Business Intelligence is a vital part of my future plans of becoming a successful entrepreneur through use of the knowledge to make informed decisions. And although the journey ahead will be rough, I believe I possess the necessary skills and perseverance to adapt and thrive, to evolve just as the world is. I am sure I will prove myself to be a worthy candidate if the privilege to pursue this Master's program in your universities is bestowed upon me.

Again I tried following a similar format to the Strategic Project Management essay (which I am in the process of fixing) but this seems way too verbose.

Graduate / Six different questions included in the Virginia Tech personal statement [3]

So I thought I could use the UBC essay and structure it into my essay for Virginia Tech but it's proving a little difficult as they said it should remain between 1-2 pages and mine is like 2.25 pages. The instructions they provided, even though I do know you guys are aware of them, are as below:

I wrote a statement but I would need help fixing it and possibly making it stronger. Deadline for application FOR funded applicants is in 2 days (15th) so I would need to work on this tediously to submit it before that.

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." -Franklin D. Roosevelt

I have always been an ardent follower of Roosevelt's ideology of striving to alleviate the needs of the masses. From my academic to the various projects I completed and even my professional life, I have always strived to innovate solutions that could assist the helpless. And through my various phases in life, I have discovered that the most adept way to provide solutions that could benefit others would be through research. Pursuing and attaining a PhD degree will help me gain greater research experience in generating solutions for social impact, and act as a platform through which I can contribute to the field of technology and solutions development on a greater level.

While pursuing my undergraduate degree, I was always engrossed myself in numerous activities to help me find what I wanted to devote my life to. Working 30 hours (full time almost) every week as an undergraduate teaching assistant for the Engineering and English department from my Junior Year while I was studying, definitely helped me in finding a purpose. Fostering young minds and stimulating students to solve problems that plague society through innovative projects was always enjoyable. It was so enjoyable that I joined and worked as a lab instructor at my university for the database management and web technology courses during my final semester in Fall 2013. Committing myself to such an enormous load of work was ambitious and difficult but I was able to strive and graduate in the top 10% of my class. During this time, I was also struggling, but somehow, able to maintain my merit based scholarship that allowed me access to a 50 percent tuition fee discount each semester. My thesis on "Using NFC and Wi-Fi To Automate Various Processes In An Educational Institution" was well received by peers and professors alike, with many singling it out for the innovate approach I took at solving common problems regarding information dissemination standards. I also took part in various programming competitions during the same period and did freelance automation of various processes in educational institutions such as schools. Back in 2013, I reached one of the early pinnacles of my burgeoning career as a solutions developer and researcher, when I created an app for dynamic healthcare as part of an inter-university programming contest. The app would not only provide patients with health services and general health information, but would also monitor symptoms and track migratory patterns to notify medical professionals of possible epidemics. Once I graduate, I started working as a Research Associate at a multinational organization, Dnet. I conducted research and developed solutions through programming on various national and international projects involving cloud computing, android, web app development, and sustainable energy source development. I have worked on establishing cheap means of monitoring heart health and blood pressure readings through mobile data and using portable pedal power as a cheap source of electricity for villagers. I have for the Missing Child Alert (MCA) project team to create a platform for government organizations, NGOs and relevant stakeholders to combat trafficking in South Asia. However to contribute to the society to a greater degree requires a bigger platform and greater knowledge.

A PhD under an exceptionally accredited university such as the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University opens a host of possibilities for me. Working under professors such as Dr. Naren Ramakrishnan and Stephen H. Edwards, who are conducting definitive research in the fields of information, digital education and software engineering would be great honor for me. As I have a thorough background in health service automation, pattern analysis and epidemic alert, Dr Ramakrishnan's work on satellite imagery analysis of hospital parking lots to attain information on Disease Outbreaks struck a chord with me. And Dr Edwards's research on procrastination in class and ways of combating it is very interesting as well, given my background in Java programming and my thesis, which had a strong focus on information dissemination to assist in digital education. These researches have been aimed for the masses. Dr Edwards's work on providing online teaching support as well as his innovative approach into gaming as a part of education, all are highly fascinating projects to work on. Furthermore, Dr Barbara Ryder's project regarding the implementation of peer-led team learning for under-represented groups provides a highly innovative approach towards addressing so many issues faced by our generation of students, a field I would love to explore. Being able to contribute to the field of computer science and technology, primarily how information flows in educational institutions or large organizations, or solving other social issues primarily those concerning health, through automation and research, has always been my aim. Through the extensive curriculum, exceptionally gifted professors and exposure to a vast array of research opportunities, attaining a PhD in Computer Science under the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University will help me progress in reaching my aim , that of aligning my personal evolution to that of society , especially those who have too little.

As always, thanks for your help Louisa. You helped me gain confidence in submitting my past essays and I hope we can do a great job on this one as well. :)

Scholarship / Motivation Letter for Erasmus Mundus masters program on Digital Communication Leadership (DCLead) [3]

Hey guys, I needed some help with my motivation letter for the Erasmus Mundus program on DCLead. The instructions provided in the site are given below and so is my first draft.

In the letter, the candidate should be explained how passed experiences have prepared to candidate to participate in the master in digital communication leadership, how this programme is likely to improve his or her own career perspectives, and why the candidate is interested in the topic of digital communication leadership.

8,000-1,0000 characters long, including spaces

Motivation Letter by Ishaqur Rahman

I am applying for the Erasmus Mundus Master in Digital Communication Leadership (DCLead) Programme.at the Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg.

Sydney J. Harris once mentioned how the various types of information being given out to the masses is meaningless unless effective communication is used to get through to those people. Having worked in the e-commerce industry for almost two years, I have learned how vital articulate digital communication is for the success of any organization. There is no lack of information available to an organization. Web analytics and semantics tools, among others, work effectively in the accumulation of information. But how do we use that information? Moreover, it is vital to learn how the content and information encapsulated by us are specifically catered to the demands and wants of the consumers. As the Business Development Manager at a multinational solutions developer, Dnet, I have initiated numerous online marketing campaigns through efficient research of consumer markets with a high success rate in reaching out to the intended consumers. My professional career has revolved largely around efficient dissemination and interpretation of information for consumers and stakeholders alike. As such I have studied extensively regarding the development of digital technologies, service design, and media and service management. Although digital communication is an acquired taste, I have always had a propensity towards innovation and digital communication even during my academic tenure. My Senior year research, when I was completing my Bachelor's degree in Computing Science and Engineering focused on the use of Near-Field Communication (NFC) and Wi-Fi for efficient dissemination of information and automation of various processes in an educational institution and cafeterias. My project had a strong on communication via alternative digital media and efficient processing and representation of information. I do believe that I possess all the necessary professional experience, educational background and personal traits that are necessary to excel in the DCLead programme, all of which are further delineated in my resume.

Through the competent combination of economic-managerial, technological and media and communication knowledge as well as social responsibility and the various ethical-cultural dimensions that command the field of digital communications, the DCLead programme offers the most viable option to learn from, both academically and professionally. Through it's two-pronged approach at developing students, courses taken by experts and network development by intership at internationally accredited partners namely, the programme catalyzes an all-round development in students through both academic support as well as practical exposure. From a strong focus on the various digital communication theories to social research methods to managerial economics and design methodologies, and finally, entrepreneurship, innovation, governance and strategy formulation, the programme aims to provide a defined approach towards attaining the skillset and knowledge necessary to thrive in the field of Digital Communications namely the specialization of Digital Technology and Management, which I am very interested in pursuing. As the final semester would be co-supervised by two academics from two different institutions and with the option to study in one of the partner consortiums that lie across the world, the programme provides a myriad of possibilities to build myself professionally as well as academically. Personal evolution is integral and a vital aspect of the programme. To that end, I have no doubts that the quality of the culture and the people I would be exposed to in Austria, Belgium and Denmark, will stimulate my personal growth through extensive experience thereby giving me the opportunity to learn more and thus, evolve as well.

Studying at world class institutes namely the Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and Aalborg University Copenhagen, through the rigorous curriculum presented at each institution and under the tutelage of exceptional professors and specialists, is a once in a lifetime chance to adapt myself to pursue my professional aim of becoming a global digital leader. As a Global Digital Leader, I aim to build a platform to contribute to nurturing better means and more articulate forms of digital communication. The Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree Programme in Digital Communication Leadership is therefore a vital part of my future plans to becoming a global leader in the field of digital communication. Although the journey ahead will be rough, I believe I possess the necessary skills and perseverance to adapt and thrive, to evolve just as the world progresses. I will prove myself a worthy candidate if the privilege to pursue this prestigious Master's program is bestowed upon me.

I tried to model it similar to the Business Intelligence letter. It's a bit longer but I was wondering if it adeptly portrayed all the necessary details or not.

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