Motivation Letter draft for EMECS program / Electronics and Communication Engineering

EMECS scholarship program application

Hi everyone. I would like some feedback for the first draft of my motivation letter.
Instructions: The applicant must show that he/she is well motivated for the Embedded Computing Systems programme by writing a short letter of motivation of about one page.

Bangalore, 20 January 2021
Coordinator of EMECS
Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Program
Professor Wofgang Kunz
TU Kaiserslautern

My name is Navaneeth Narayanan. I am a graduate from xxxxxx, xxxx with a bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering. At present I am working as a software engineer for xxxxxxxxx.

Embedded systems engineering is full of opportunities to impact the everyday life of people with diverse applications in communications, consumer electronics, automotive, defense, healthcare, and energy. The pervasive nature of the field along with its advantages also brings a constant requirement to make embedded systems ever more flexible, reliable and fault tolerant. As an engineer, I fully recognize the challenges that accompany these requirements and the skill set one must have to address them. Consequently, I am writing this letter to express my motivation in joining the European Masters in Embedded Computing Systems (EMECS) program.

During my studies as a Bachelor of Electronics and Communication Engineering, I was introduced to subjects like Digital Circuits, Analog Integrated Circuits, Digital Signal Processing, Microprocessors and Embedded Systems. But it was only after being selected to complete an ambitious IoT project called 'Smart Safety Helmet' that I began to develop an interest in embedded system software development and decided to pursue my higher studies in this direction. Coming from a developing country, with a growing demand for competent embedded system engineers in the innovation and technology space, it was always very important for my studies to focus on this field. The EMECS programme is structured to be highly specialized, not only providing me with a solid theoretical foundation but also industry relevant skills required to grow in such a highly competitive field.

Furthermore, the courses in my undergraduate studies have only covered certain aspects of embedded systems. Coursework on topics such as OS for embedded systems and real-time system programming are generally not covered at the undergraduate level in India and are important for system software engineering. While the skills I have gained through my prior education have aided me adequately in being a technically adept software engineer, there are a few knowledge gaps which I wish to improve on.

For all the above reasons, I wish to apply for the EMECS scholarship program. I have selected Politecnico di Torino (POLITO) and Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) as my mobility preferences. POLITO offers core and elective courses on Software Engineering, Operating systems for embedded systems and Programming for IoT applications. These courses provide a solid foundation in embedded software, making it an ideal choice for my first year. NTNU is my preference for the second year as the elective program offers interesting courses in embedded systems and signal processing. Furthermore, the presence of companies such as Texas Instruments and ARM in addition to innovation labs like the Norwegian Open AI Lab, offer an excellent opportunity to complete my master's thesis in a highly focused research and development set up. All these factors make earning a master's degree from the EMECS program the best possible choice for me.

I firmly believe that participation in the EMECS Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Program will give me a unique opportunity to earn more knowledge and provide the best possible platform to achieve my professional goals. I am confident my academic background and professional experience makes me a strong candidate, capable of holding up the high standards expected from graduate students. Therefore, I pen down my Letter of Motivation with due reverence to the selection committee and the scholarship program.

Sincerely,
xxxx

The academic path you have taken is very well threshed out in this essay. In fact, it became the only focus of your presentation. Which negated the motivational aspect of your discussion. What is your personal motivation for higher academic pursuits in this line? How will that personal motivation relate to your academic requirements? What is the career path that has motivated you to follow this line of study? These are aspects that directly relate to your strong motivational desires in relation to the course. Try to explain what sort of career you hope to enter into upon completion of the course. You have presented all of the information except, the actual motivation.

It is not enough to fully recognize the challenges of the course. It is not enough that you want to address these requirements in relation to your education. Even when it comes to choosing the universities, you fail to address the career motivation aspect of your choices. Sure the academic curriculum counts, but how do these studies relate to your career path? What is the professional motivation for the course choices and university picks?