Pursue Reason essay for MSC in Information Systems at NTU, Singapore

I have degrees in B.Pharm (Hons) and M.E. (Software Systems) from BITS-Pilani, India. I have been working as software developer at D.E. Shaw India Softwre Pvt. Ltd. since 2008 july. I'm applying for MSc in INformation systems at NTU.

Pursue Reason :
State (Please enter not more than 1000 characters; Do not use the symbol " & ~) why you wish to pursue this programme and how you would use the knowledge you gain from it in practice (A separate statement of support from your employer would be useful)

I have developed a strong liking for computers and programming during my bachelors degree which prompted me to take up computer/software related elective courses during and an internship with Administrative Staff College of India for their in-house IT development needs. My six month internship has helped me draw lot of confidence from multiple data driven web applications I have designed and developed. After this, choice was obvious that I go for higher studies in the field of IT. I was granted vertical transfer to M.E. in Software Systems (thanks to good grades I have achieved in my software/computer related electives and my internship).

I wanted to go beyond classroom learning and gain more practical experience in software development. So, I have joined as Project Assistant at Center for software development, BITS-Pilani during my Masters degree (2005 to 2008). I have worked on many in-house development projects (feedback module for Distance learning courses, Faculty recruitment module and Quiz engine). I take pride in saying that these applications are still being used. My stint as project assistant has provided me many opportunities to demonstrate my technical and leadership skills. I have provided technical guidance to students and taught Java programming during evening classes for a year as part of Center for Software Development initiatives (recently it has been renamed to Software Development and Educational technology). I have done my masters internship with Oracle India Pvt. Ltd. where I worked on enabling rich interactions and social bookmarking in Oracle WebCenter.

I have done very well in Masters and I also got a job offer during campus placements from hedge fund giant D.E. Shaw & Co. at Hyderabad office. This is where I have developed keen interest in databases and information storage and retrieval. I have designed and implemented database layer for many features in our application (request/ticket management system). I have gained good exposure on optimizing query performance in RDBMS as part of my work routine. I have also been working on all-text search related features/ bugs for the last two years. I have taken initiative to go deep into lucene API and developed a keen interest towards data structures and algorithms used for information retrieval.

Due to the keen interest I have developed over time, I felt that I should equip myself with advanced theoretical and implementation aspects of databases and information storage and retrieval. I want to pursue a research career in one of these fields and I feel that studying for a year at a good school will equip me with arsenal for my future goals. I strongly believe that knowledge and the global exposure I would gain from MSc in Information Systems at NTU will be of immense help. I am confident that my past academic endeavor and work experience have prepared me well to take on the intense study and research plans for a master's degree study.

You have almost 2500 characters! So... it is too long.

Due to the keen interest I have developed over time, I felt that I should equip myself with advanced theoretical and implementation aspects of databases and information storage and retrieval.

I want to pursue a research career in... Systems at NTU will be of immense help. ---All this content can be cut, because it is general and insubstantial, obvious... goes without saying. Know what I mean? For every paragraph, ask yourself what it does to the reader. Keep only the cntent that inspires the reader by showing how clear and detailed your plan is and how much you are already reading to prepare for your professional field.

My favorite sentence: I have taken initiative to go deep into lucene API and developed a keen interest towards data structures and algorithms used for information retrieval.