Hello there! I am writing motivational letter for erasmus mundus management & engineering of environmental and energy.
I am not sure what the length should be because, I have so much to write about.... can some one guide me? Also check my letter. This 2272 words and around 4 pages.
Motivation Letter
To,
Consortium dealing with ME3+.
Dear Sir/Madam,
As a young student, I dreamt of doing something impactful for my fellow beings in need, my work became a manifestation of this desire. I am a chemical engineer and researcher at the University of Punjab. I graduated with a bachelor's in Chemical Engineering and an associate degree in Arts, giving me a unique outlook on the world around me, where I am able to look upon facets of engineering in a creative way, drawing inspiration from nature itself. I aspire to perform deep and detail-oriented work in the industry, putting my creative perspective into action and contributing towards a green and sustainable future.
I belong to a middle-class family in Pakistan, where education is not provided to every child. I understood its importance when my parents put me in school while my friends learned things like bike repairing and worked in grocery stores. I was not always a bright student, but I was very creative and it was through the company of supportive friends, that I put my interest in learning into productivity and achieved the highest grades in my school, and was awarded the improvement award for my efforts. It was the start of my journey toward discovering myself. Even though the circumstances became better outside I was on the verge of dropping out because of family conflicts, my family could not pay for a better school, so I attended tuition for 4 hours after school and secured admission to a prestigious college in Lahore. Through countless hours of preparation and taking entrance exams of top universities, I was able to secure admission in all but unfortunately did not have the finances to join a private university. Instead, I was awarded merit-based admission to a well-known public university that was considered the best institute for chemical engineering in my country.
I chose pre-engineering for my H.S.C (Higher Secondary Certificate) because, in my 9th-grade chemistry class, my teacher discussed the role of a chemical engineer. I was deeply inspired by the collision of both worlds, a chemical engineer to me was someone, who understood nature and used it for designing equipment to produce goods on a large scale and I realized that it could have the answer to modern concerns like climate change and world hunger. There was a huge energy crisis in my country and a lack of awareness of climate change, which has now led to the glaciers melting and the temperatures rising to about 50 degrees centigrade. I quickly became invested in this field and what it could entail in reducing human suffering, spending hours after class at the FCC Ewing Memorial Library exploring books that talked about chemical synthesis, and the generation of something from nothing. I wanted to get the full picture of what it would be like to start something from the very beginning. I joined chemical engineering with an intend to work for the betterment of our environment.
My four-year degree has been a combination of highs and lows. In my first year, I was very determined and was probably the most passionate student in my class, because I chose chemical engineering on my own, unlike others who had to choose it because they had no other choice and chemical engineering doesn't have the brightest scope in our country. Being a government institute and the rote learning system was prevalent, so I had a complicated relationship with my studies; although I was passionate and had knowledge of concepts, my grades dropped. I am different because I cannot simply learn without knowing the bigger picture because of my proactive nature. I needed to work twice as hard as others and I did, even during the COVID-19 online school, when no one took studies seriously. It was the time I propelled forward the most and made so much improvement that I have made the highest academic progress in my batch as evident in my academic transcript, my progress has quadrupled only because of my passion for the field.
When it comes to research, most of my work is related to green and sustainable production which are harmless for the environment. In my unit process report, which was published at our department library, I researched different ways of carbon dioxide capture, their mechanism, and areas of improvement, emphasizing direct air capture via membranes and different techniques to produce hydrogen from electrolysis, research was done to produce a large-scale method. I incorporated different catalysts to produce methanol via hydrogenation of captured carbon dioxide. I analyzed the results, reducing the temperature used by employing a copper-based catalyst. The project was done entirely online due to covid-19 restrictions using Aspen HYSYS, MATLAB, and Excel to provide solutions and effective coordination. Optimization & pinch analysis techniques were employed in order to produce energy efficient processes.
In my final year project, I continued the research on large-scale hydrogen production via electrolysis coupled with the green production of ammonia using nitrogen produced via pressure-swing adsorption. This topic is one of the most innovative future processes as it entails the production of chemicals in high demand in Pakistan but are produced by processes that harm our environment. This method is the most sustainable and pollution-free method of producing ammonia. Pakistan has a high demand for ammonia being an agricultural country, at the same time, it can also solve the energy crisis by safely storing excess energy in renewable resources, all of these considerations were taken into account while choosing this project. I have worked on process selection, material and energy balance, equipment design, process instrumentation, and dynamic control.
During my two-month internship, I worked in an environmental firm, I researched the potential of energy production from the tons of landfill gas produced at the Lakhodair landfill site, and this can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions which are deteriorating the air quality of Lahore; this is also my current research project, to identify the key pollution sources and how to find alternative processes that could be taken to prevent it. In this review article I am reviewing the literature on air pollution data and research findings with current data.
During this internship, I learned the art of converting already present resources into useful products like refused dry fuel from leachate, the very thing which the program aims to do, produce bioproducts from waste. I am also working on the entrepreneurial start-up of cheap reverse osmosis plants with a high recovery rate, reduction, and cheap utilization of wastewater.
After graduation, completing a highly competitive recruitment process, I had a profound opportunity to start work at one of the biggest fertilizer plants in my country, Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFCL). For three months I observed the physical application of the concepts I learned throughout my degree, however, working in the industry and it opened me up for further exploration in modern methods. I observed a huge food crisis emerging due to dwindling gas resources in Pakistan. I also realized that the projects that I worked on in my bachelor's degree hold a valuable answer to this crisis while preserving the environment. This is also the reason why most of my research is based on renewable energy resources like wind and solar energy and why I selected study-track 3 as my first priority.
There are a lot of factors, which have motived and influenced me to apply for the ME3+ Erasmus Mundus Program. The program is planned in Europe and world-class institutes with high research output, this increases my interest to pursue a master's degree. The major driving force that influenced me to continue my studies further is the thirst for knowledge and curiosity. It always motivates me to continue my education, and achieve academic excellence further, enhancing my skills. I realized my knowledge-gaining skills and want to expand and share them with other people.
The second motivating factor is that master's degree will enable me to pursue my career in R&D as well. My country lacks R&D, millions of dollars are spent on bringing imported equipment, and some industries still use 50 years old units without considering environmental hazards which can be overcome with R&D easily by especially, bringing proper environmental management acumen. Moreover, A master's degree will provide me with opportunities to expand my research work by opening the opportunity of doing a Ph.D. degree. I will build up sufficient research skills which are necessary for doing a Ph.D. degree by pursuing a master's degree at a leading research university in an EU country.
The third reason is that I had an opportunity to work at Pakistan's top fertilizer company. It was challenging as well as very informative for me because I got the idea of how big companies work. I also monitor their environmental management process and noticed that in Pakistan more traditional methods are used, which have to be improved, at that moment I realized that if I ever wanted to contribute to sustainable development, I have to learn advanced techniques of waste treatment incorporating new environmental management & renewable energy-based systems and help the industrial market. I wanted to be that first step of change and want to participate in that manner which I believe I can achieve through my Master's and Ph.D. studies, especially in the company of highly skilled people in the field, I am particulary interested in Dr. AJamai research on sorption for effective treatment of water and gas. The input of experts in this field like Dr. Wliah and Dr. Asma with exceptional work in the field of separations could help in my water purification project which aims to provide cheap and clean water in Pakistan. Upon learning about the culture of the universities, they felt very welcoming to students from diverse backgrounds like me and worth pursuing based on my interest in working towards the shifting industrial processes to biobased processes.
The degree is coupled with an internship. My sole purpose in learning is to apply my knowledge to producing practical results that affect the lives of my community, especially by making harmless chemicals. Studying under the supervision of professors at UCLM like Prof. James, who has experience in dealing with hundreds of multinational companies and the business courses included in this degree will also provide me with a fresh outlook on the industrial sector. Hence, this course is very crucial for me. I want to contribute to the achievement of the sustainability goals so our future generations do not peril and it would be an honor to be a part of an institute like LUT which is in the top ten in the world in climate action.
The fourth cause for going for a master's from Europe is that I will experience different cultures, traditions, and lifestyles. I am also fond of learning different languages and since this program includes Spanish, Finnish, and Polish language courses, so I am eagerly looking forward to those. This will reduce my cultural barrier. I have always wanted to travel, and in the two years, I would make the most of my time in each of the program countries. The cities of Wroclaw and Ciudad Real having such a rich historical background and beautiful architecture fascinates me. WUST having more than 30,000 students will give me the opportunity to learn in a supportive and diverse environment. As someone who has lived his entire life in such a tropical area, living in Lappeenranta would be a completely new and exciting experience.
In my understanding, this world is shared by all of us equally, and those who are given higher opportunities and talent have the responsibility to work for those who cannot, as an act of gratitude. During a phase of self-discovery, I joined a fellowship that changed my perspective on community work at Amal Academy. We collected donations as a team as part of a project for the Edhi Foundation that helped the orphanages and provided basic needs for disinherited children. At Amal Academy, which is an NGO linked with Stanford University, Acumen Foundation, and PepsiCo Pakistan, I invested time in learning business and communication skills. I also worked with Amal Academy in the marketing team as an ambassador, I visited different universities in Lahore, where I came face-to-face with youngsters, convincing them to take action for their career and self- expression. One of the initiatives we took at Amal Academy is Helping Paws Pakistan, which is an animal rights awareness project in Pakistan. I was also part of a tree plantation organization in my neighborhood. I'm also part of a blood donating community that works for the welfare of society. I organized different drives and seminars for the blood donation foundations and charitable organizations to make people aware of the things that are going on in life.
In my learning and working experience, I applied the principles of sincerity and hard work wherever I could. As a result, I made decisions that would take me closer to my goals. If I am selected, my progress will increase by leaps and bounds. To recapitulate, the incomparable standard set by the program universities will provide an excellent platform for me to achieve the goals that I have set for myself. Studying in this program will broaden my viewpoint and help me understand the differences between my native country and the Western world, which in turn will prepare me to think innovatively and independently in my career. Upon completion of my master's studies, I will use my engineering and research skills and thus enabling me to contribute to society's productivity by educating future engineers in an erudite way or by incrementing a technically skilled engineer.
Sincerely,
Ahsan Nasir