Scholarship / English teacher and determination -PTDF UK scholarship: scholarship with this statement of purpose. [3]

Where determination predominates, failure cannot dismantle the flag of success

My English teacher would always say "Where determination predominates, failure cannot dismantle the flag of success", when he gives us a motivation talk. And from a young age, I took those words seriously. I'm the first son of a family of eleven, and my father, a tailor, struggles to cater for even the most basic of our needs. I remember going to school with torn uniform, trekking about 8 kilometers to and from the school, and barely finding food to eat on a regular basis. Those difficulties, however, has not hampered my determination to be successful and becoming a beacon of hope not only to my family but to the society at large.

In the final year of my secondary school days, I came across some text/materials on computers, networking and programming, and I became fascinated by the applications of the same in solving myriad of problems. I took interest in programming and that led to my choice of BSc computer science in my undergraduate studies.

After my secondary school, I got admission into Bayero university to study computer science. And, to fund my studies, I worked as a teacher in a private primary school which allowed me to save for my first-year tuition. I managed to secure an NNPC/Chevron joint venture scholarship in my second year to fund the rest of my undergraduate studies.

The program I took in the university has provided me with knowledge of different algorithmic functions, systems analysis and design, computational analysis, database systems, software engineering, information systems, networks etc. I was particularly good at programming modules such as; Java workshop, Python, C++ workshop etc. I garnered adequate understanding of computer and IT systems, as I spearhead a couple of projects during the study, which provide me with the necessary background to thrive in the field of computer science.

We are the largest oil producer in Africa and the 6th largest producer of oil in the world at the time of writing, and significant percentage of our GDP depends on its production and exportation. And the role of ICT in its exploration, production, transportation, refining and marketing cannot be overemphasized. State-of-the art ICT technologies are widely used in the industrialized economies, and we need to keep up with technological development in order to be able to derive maximum benefit from our oil reserves and also to adapt the human skills to carry out the same.

Therefore, I believe that this scholarship presents a rare opportunity for me to get the quality education, training and expertise necessary to help seek innovative, ingenious and creative ways to maximize benefit from our oil reserves as well as exploring more ICT-enabled business processes efficiencies.

I chose University of Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow because I was impressed by the modules in their computer science MSc, which perfectly aligns with and improve on the modules I learnt in my undergraduate studies. And I believe I can demonstrate the commitment, drive and expertise to succeed in the course.

Thank you