Graduate / "There is a sufficiency in the world for a man's need but not for a man's greed" - Masters SOP [3]

Statement of Purpose

"There is a sufficiency in the world for a man's need but not for a man's greed." -Mahatma Gandhi

As surprising as it would seem, man's greed for long has been sensed by the nature around him. Thus giving him an early introduction to the world of Renewable Energy in the form of the Wind and the Sun. History has already recorded our past endeavours with the wind energy. We have used wind to grind our grains and to pump water into our luscious fields. But as the resources underneath our feet began to dry up, all we had to do was to look up at the sun beaming down at us with a promise to provide an endless supply of energy limited only by our contemporary technological prowess.

With the world on the constant lookout for an efficient and clean source of energy to power and sustain all their luxuries, renewable energy sure does seem to be a potential candidate .But with the present technology being inefficient in harnessing its power has made it costly. The market share it holds is only because of the subsidised prices, which is a problem that needs to be solved. In addition, to combat the higher prices of imported fuel , the need of the hour is a cheaper, greener and a sustainable source of fuel.

In my four years in Bachelors at Amrita University, the panacea for the looming energy crisis and the ways of sustainable living and alternate forms of energy remained oblivious to me .But during the subsequent months after I had been introduced into the world of Green Energy through an unexpected visit to Agency for Non-conventional Energy and Rural Technology [ANERT] for making an enquiry about Solar Lantern, I sought to learn more about it from the authoritative figures in the field. Thus I took a firm decision to follow the voice of my anima and politely declined a job offer from a popular MNC in the IT industry. As the first step towards my new learning goals, I joined ANERT as Graduate Apprentice Trainee.

While taking the maiden step, I felt intrinsically motivated and quickly began learning about the organisation, its role, schemes and its subsidy practices supported by the Central and State Government of India. As part of my job profile, I began learning about various inspection procedures and current necessities of people of Kerala. My unique position in the organisation provided me with an opportunity to understand the various communities in villages like Attapadi and especially in Wayanad, with high numbers of widows who were deprived of basic electrification due to topography, bureaucracy related delays and the like. Yet I was unable to help them due to lack of authority, academic expertise and the financial wherewithal. Under the aegis of the wisdom gained after completing my Masters in the University of 'X' I seek to rout over the above issues with the support from the public. The current outlook of Renewable Energy and its related policy initiatives taken by the State Govt. seemed inadequate but nevertheless on the right track.

But with the onset of Mr Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' initiative, I hope to be a part of the programme in realising India's Energy Security. The programme encourages the indigenous manufacturing industry in India. Taking this into account, I would like to make use of my experience ,the academic knowledge gained and the managerial skills imparted out to me in the next two years to help in releasing 'products of the future' to benefit the rural and underprivileged communities. The products would be made directly available to the end user or through a third party vendor creating increased job opportunities in the field of sustainable energy and hence would also contribute to the IGEN-RE iniatitive.

Furthermore, owing to the present trend of declining fuel prices, I would like to leverage the situation to positively reflect on the India's Current Account Deficit thus turning into a surplus. The increasing number of investors in the Non-conventional energy sector will be benefitted from the young minds that graduate from your institution as they will be educated on the current socio-economic issues prevalent in the subject.

My participation in various industrial training programmes during my undergraduate study has aided in the reinforcement of my theoretical knowledge.Also Labs like Computer Programming, Machine Drawing, Metallurgy and Materials Testing, Heat Transfer and Fluid Power taught me much about the practical implications of theoretical knowledge to achieve the desired results. The course has made me proficient in the basic concepts, applications and devices in used in the Mechanical Engineering theatre. The interest to learn about nature and the efforts that I put in the subject of Environmental Studies helped me gain a grade of B+.

In addition to this, I was given a fair chance to experience leadership during my final year project in the undergraduate programme where my core responsibilities were 'The Design of a Special Purpose Grinding Machine for Fettling Process' ,the distribution of project related assignments and to maintain and govern interpersonal relationships. Thus it involved the design of a machine which can be economically and indigenously manufactured to grind the surface as well as irregular profiles of a casting component. The proposed machine was a Double Column Grinding Machine which holds the grinding wheel setup in position in order to facilitate effective grinding. This setup can be mounted vertically for surface grinding and horizontally for lateral grinding. The work involved design of Fixture, Base, Guideways, Table, Support Columns and Grinding wheel Assembly. Subjects like the Design of Machine Elements, FEA, and Dynamics of Machinery has helped me visualize the desired outcome through design calculations and solid modeling and helped validate my creative ideas to achieve the desired results. The project apart from being academically challenging also did challenge me in the act of maintaining 'Truce' in troubled waters among project mates. And I Am pleased to say that my innate abilities to see the bigger picture helped me keep my project mates concentrate on the work at hand. A similar role was offered to me during Amrita's Technical Festival -Anokha'14 when I was put in charge as the Team Manager for the Hospitality Department .The experience gained so far and the challenging opportunity to deal with a large number of volunteers under my purview helped me in handling multifaceted responsibilities thereby gaining a positive feedback from the guests at the festival.

Thus with the knowledge and understanding from various instances of my academic and professional life there began my search to find ways to avert the pending energy crisis from taking its final form. Thus I seek to learn about Photovoltaics in length to help me solve problems relating to efficiency, sizing and high prices among others with a concrete background in the current scenario. I believe that my efforts would positively lead to fruition with my stint at the epitome of knowledge in the German Soil. Besides, I realise the inner meaning of the Phrase "Gone with the Wind", and I hope to channel back the energy hidden in the wind to light our lives and livelihoods. This, I am sure, will be a dream come true among all the philanthropists in the scientific community. In short I would like to present myself as a 'Solar Lantern', unwavering and yet glowing brighter in the wind to elevate the quality of the life of millions to achieve the long perceived goal of Energy Independence in India. Hence one man's greed would never again overshadow another man's need.

And yes, this is more than the motivation for a B.Tech Mechanical Engineering Graduate to decide and venture into a newly found passion and create a niche for himself in the world of abundance.

Being an economic powerhouse and a place where I see the possibility for me to build a strong professional network, I am convinced that Germany is the right place to invest my time as a student of STEM. The core semester of European Masters in Renewable Energy essentially provides a strong footing in all the subjects of my interest and which have a huge potential to make significant changes in my country. Besides academics I also look forward to working in a multicultural expat friendly environment like Germany's. During my stay I would like to learn German and also explore its exquisite culinary hotspots. Thus I would like to experience the joy of working at home away from home, making friends for life and memories for a lifetime.

In light of the above, I wish to once again express my motivation in applying for 'x' course at 'y' University and be rest assured that my tenure at your university would help improve my expertise in energy systems in the Non-conventional Energy sector Hence I hope my application to the admissions committee will be successful with full financial Aid.

I like the idea of Men"helping people by working with nature" and I know for sure that someday I would be walking this talk!!!