STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Introduction:
My name is Manpreet Singh, I am from Village Ram Nagar, Gurdaspur, Punjab, India. I have enrolled
in Master of Computer Science at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia.

Family Background:
About my family background, my father’s name is Mr. Balwinder Singh and mother’s name is Harjit
Kaur. I have a younger brother who is a student. My father runs his own business, while mother is a
homemaker.

Educational Background:
I did my Secondary Education from Punjab School Education Board and scored 69.5 % in 2009 followed
by my Senior Secondary from the same board with 60.5 % in 2011. I then did my B. Tech. (Information
Technology) in 2015 with 66.5 % from Punjab Technical University.

Work Experience Details:

After completing my engineering in IT in 2015, I joined Ruler Dynasty Infotech as a Web Developer
Executive and worked there from June 2015 to September 2016. During my tenure in the company, I
got the chance to develop websites for different clients from different backgrounds. This gave me some
exposure to the field of website development along with learning and exploring different website
development technologies. However, I realized that my learning and exposure was limited and I need to
pursue my masters to get an edge to my skill sets and knowledge.

Reasons for choosing to study Master of Computer Science:

Since my childhood, I had a keen interest in computers. As I was growing, my interest in acquiring the
knowledge of computer was growing at a high pace so I chose computer science as my subject at high
school. Further, I did my Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology. It helped me to gain some
practical knowledge about computers and the way the software programs work. As I was good in
subjects like Physics and Mathematics, pursuing my career in Information Technology became easy for
me. I successfully completed my engineering in 2015 and went on to work with a small time company
but my learning and growth was too limited, which made me think of other options – further studies or
better jobs.

Initially, I was in two minds – either to relocate to metro cities like Delhi or Mumbai in India and get
good jobs in MNCs like TCS, Wipro and Infosys or to do my masters and grow up my chance of getting
better opportunities within my country. The first option again had the same issue, with Bachelor’s
degree in hand, I could get only low level jobs and would need a time duration 5-6 years to reach at
superior positions, while for the latter option, I just have to invest two years and get much better
positions in the good IT companies at good positions and with high salaries. Also, with master’s degree
in hand, the above mentioned companies would have better offers for me in terms of salaries and
positions, which can further help to enter giant groups like Amazon or Microsoft.

Finally, my decision was to do masters in Information Technology or Computer Science and hence I
started looking for options within India. However, for doing Masters (M Tech), I had options like IITs,
Delhi Technological University, and National Institutes of Technology in various cities, Jamia Milia
and others. To enter into these high rank institutions, I needed to crack the entrance exam – GATE and
for other universities there are other entrance exams like DU MCA, etc. Also, the seats for M Tech (IT)
were limited and I needed at least a year for its preparation to crack the exam, which had the risk of
losing another year and money. So, the other option, which came in my mind, was to consider overseas
education. I was fond of the idea of going abroad for my further studies, hence the options like US, UK,
Canada, Germany or Australia worthy to consider as compared to the local universities in India. A
foreign Master’s degree in computer science will give me excellent future career opportunities. Since
information technology is a field of constant and rapid development and studying masters from overseas
will give me efficient training and preparation for future employment. It will help me upgrade my
technical skills and knowledge. With my experience, I have learnt that employees with superior and
advanced qualifications are always preferred for growth and senior positions in the organizations.
Hence, a master’s degree will help me work with the top software companies in India as well as get a
growth in the long run.

Reasons for choosing to study in Australia:

When I started my research for my studies abroad, I had few options – USA, UK, Germany, Canada and
Australia in my mind. As I started to research the country option- US, I need to appear for GRE, which
again is a time and money consuming exercise. Also, I found the US option more expensive, which is
why I ruled out this country. Similarly, in Germany, the criteria seemed too high making me not eligible
for the same, as universities have criteria of 70% or above, GRE scores, IELTS of overall 7, etc. UK was
a good option but it offered one year Master’s course, which made me drop the plan as many of the
companies in India will not consider me for higher positions thus I was left with two options – Canada
and Australia. The former option required 70% plus requirement, which again made me, loose this
option and comparing with Australia, I found Australia to be a better choice. Australia is good in terms
of having good universities, affordable fee and favorable weather conditions. All these benefits helped
me to make my mind for the same.

Studying in Australia will have a major impact on my profile and in the long run on my career.
Universities in Australia are technologically much more advanced than Indian universities. I read their
websites and found that they have some of the best infrastructures and advanced computer labs.
Libraries are accessible 24x7 and study material is available online as well. Multiple projects and
assignments are a part of studies and also the universities help us find internship opportunities. All these
aspects will help me enhance my technical skills much more than studying in India where most of the
universities still have very old style of teaching.

Further, I looked for good universities in Australia to study a master’s degree. I researched universities
like Edith Cowan University, Charles Strut University, James Cook University, Central Queensland
University, Australian Catholic University and Federation University. I checked websites of all these
universities and other aspects like their rankings, facilities, programs they offer, tuition fee, etc. I found
that James Cook University has the best international ranking among these universities, but the
program they offer is Master of Information Technology (Business Informatics). This is a very
specialized program and I was looking for a general degree because as I come from the background of
website development my area of interest was different. Federation University, Charles Strut University,
Central Queensland University and Australian Catholic University provide Master of Information
Technology and Edith Cowan University provides Master of Computer Science. I checked the difference
between IT and Computer Science and found that Computer Science is more about designing and
developing software, operating systems, etc. and Information Technology is more about implementing
this software’s. Coming from a development background, my interest has always been in designing and
development and I found studying Computer Science would be more suitable for me that studying IT.
After further researching the university, I found that Edith Cowan University has good international
ranking and it is one of the top 501-600 universities in the world and it is also one of the top 150 young
universities according to Times Higher Education Ranking. This ranking is better than the other
universities that I researched. Another key reason to consider this university is that it is located in one
of the fastest developing cities in Australia – Perth. This means I can get a decent exposure in this place.
The university was established in 1991 and it has been awarded a 5 star rating in teaching quality for
many years. This shows the quality of education they offer. I believe that my Master’s in Computer
Science from Edith Cowan University will improve both my technical and analytical skills and will help
me to become a true software professional. Hence, I decided to join Edith Cowan University.

Course Details: Masters of Computer Science

Duration – Two years, Credit Points – 240 (60 each semester)

Year 1 - Semester 1
Applied Communications
Systems Analysis
Systems and Database Design
Programming Principles

Year 1 - Semester 2
Principles of Project Management
IT Professionalism and Practice20
Software Design

Year 2 - Semester 1
Software and Systems Management

Year 2 - Semester 2
Work Experience Project

Total Costs:
Tuition Fee – AUD55,100
Living Cost – AUD 39,660
OSHC – AUD 1300
Travel – AUD 2000
Total cost of education– AUD 98060

Future plans and job prospects after completion of the course:

Once I complete my Masters in Computer Science, I have good prospects in my native country, India. It
is a fast developing economy with an IT boom and is also called as an IT Hub. Even the global
companies like Google, Amazon, eBay and Microsoft have their presence in India besides the bigger
companies like Wipro, Infosys and TCS. I will get to work at good positions like Project Lead,
Technical Architect or a Technical Consultant once I have the international degree in my hand in any of
the above mentioned companies with a pay package of around 8 to 10 lakhs per annum. It can further
grow to around 12-15 Lakhs over a period of 2-3 years. In a longer run, I have secured future with
higher returns. I am confident my exposure to such an educational endeavor would enhance my
knowledge base and add values in enabling me to realize my professional goals.

Incentives to return to India:

My family is based in India and I have to return to take care of them. They have supported me a lot in
every decision and being elder in my family, I have responsibility both towards my parents and by
younger brother. Another key reason to return to India is to take care of my family assets, which my
father has developed all these years. Also, as mentioned above that India is called as an IT Hub and
there are a lot of big software companies in cities like Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon that pay high salaries. I
have an excellent opportunity of developing a high paying and a long term career in this industry and
for these reasons; I would like to return after completion of my program.

Visa Conditions:
I will follow the below mentioned visa conditions in Australia:
 I can work part time up to 40 hours per fortnight.
 I must maintain 80% attendance during academics.
 I must pay my tuition fees by the census date of each term.
 I must notify Edith Cowen University (ECU) within 7 days of any change to my residential
address.
 I must maintain my OSHC for the duration of my student visa.

Conclusion:
With high hopes and aspirations, I am looking forward to commence my Masters in Computer Science
in Edith Cowan University. If given an opportunity, I will put my best to become one of the best alumni
of my batch in Edith Cowan University. I am eagerly looking forward to receiving a positive response
for my visa.

Manpreet Singh