Motivation Letter Embedded Systems KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm

Master Programme in Embedded Systems

I have always believed in the idea that things are really understood when you make them work by yourself. It was in the third year of university, with advanced subjects, when I could really see that turning theory into practice was my thing, that I wanted to spend my life on it and that the best way to do it was through electronics. I had found my passion. I was selected from among the students to do an internship at Microchip Technology where I had the opportunity to work on a Power Line Communications project for motor control through a new communications stack. I designed the electronics section which included microcontrollers, filters, sensors, a coupling stage between the power line and PLC transceiver and a multilayer PCB. The project was so highly accepted that I was asked to write an application note and collaboration for an article from the IEEE ISPLC 2019, which has been now sent for approval.

In the last year of university, I was excited about the new projects and the latest technology. For this reason, Dr. Bernal considered that it would be appropriate as a final project for me to belong to a collaborative project with the Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, a research laboratory of MIT in Massachusetts, on future voltage estimation in batteries with a Statistical Machine Learning algorithm called Sparse GPR. That idea meant a great commitment that has led me to spend a multitude of evenings expanding my curiosity in this kind of topics and programming an algorithm that 20 years ago was unthinkable to take it to hardware.

I have been fortunate to find information about the KTH while I was looking for educational opportunities in the field of Embedded Systems, multidisciplinary research approach and European high-level academic standards. After some conversations with professors, I truly admire, and a lot of Internet time I am glad of having found a master that is a perfect match to my qualifications. I consider myself an analogue electronics geek, but open-minded and aware of the importance of digital electronics. For this reason, the blend of Analog and Digital electronics that this master provides is simply wonderful.

On the other hand, in parallel with my studies I enjoy doing extra-curricular activities. I have been competing nationally on fencing for almost 8 years and playing guitar for 6 years already. These activities have helped me on socializing and are helpful for adapting to new environments. In this last year of university, I am the student representative which leads a great responsibility towards students and faculties.

I am fascinated by the beauty of the Sweden landscapes and of the lifestyle of Swedish citizens and I frankly think that with my solid background studies and a lot of effort and passion I will provide, I will greatly benefit as well as contribute to this programme.

What do you think about it?

This sounds more like you are having a conversation regarding the foundation of your interest in this field rather than providing an actual motivation for your studies. A motivation letter needs to be a simplified version of your statement of purpose. The motivation must follow 2 paths, an academic and a professional goal. The academic and professional motivation need to go hand in hand in this letter. Yet, all I am reading about are your university accomplishments. There is no reference to any professional experience that helped open your mind to the possibility that you need to learn more about this topic, hence the motivation to seek out the best academic institution that can address your academic needs.

The reviewer will not be interested in your extra -curricular activities. This is not a personal statement, don't turn it into one. Stick to the goal of this essay, to explain the professional and academic factors that led to your desire to study at KTH. This essay is saying a tremendous amount of words, but these are not pertinent to a motivation. These are just expanded forms of your resume, which will do no good if you cannot prove a true professional and less theoretical and academic motivation for your studies.

As a masters degree student, you need to have at least 2 years professional experience in order to have a convincing motivational factor for your studies. There is no reference to any professional experience in this essay so I am not confident that you will suit the requirements for admission to the masters course at this university. The other applicants will have proper motivating factors based on career advancement considerations. Yours is purely academic and does not have any actual proof of application at this point so the overall essay is weakened by your lack of credentials. I am not sure if your SOP will be able to strengthen your application form to beef up with extremely weak motivation letter. I hope so.