Statement of Purpose

Hello, I am Maitri Patel, a resident of heritage city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. I am writing

this personnel statement for citing my predilection towards the graduate program of
Civil Engineering (MEng) fostered at Dalhousie University in Canada. I have been a
close spectator of the essentials of the civil domain ever since I decided to pursue civil
engineering.

To satisfy my quest for knowledge of substance, I prefer international education for

advanced studies where I shall avail proper guidance and upgraded education system.
Coming to my scholiast journey, I have cleared senior secondary examinations in the
year 2013 with 85.67% and higher secondary examination in the year 2015 with 68.40%
from the exams conducted by Gujarat State Education Board. Currently, I am in my final
semester of my Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering which I am pursuing from L. J. Institute
of Engineering and Technology and it is affiliated to the Gujarat Technological
University and approved by AICTE. My aggregate CGPA until my 7th semester is 9.24.

I have been a participant in many of the academic projects throughout my studies of

bachelors. My final project is titles as ‘Treatment of Industrial Waste Water’ which
focuses on comparison of conventional and non-conventional coagulants and flocculants
of primary and secondary treatment of effluents from various industries. Other projects
which I have been a part of are as follows:

 Plastic Bituminous Road – Focused on utilizing plastic waste to make plastic

bituminous road which will provide strength and increase road life
 Traffic Controls – Focused on special designs to reduce the latency of emergency
vehicle with minimum disturbance to regular traffic flow
 Soil Stabilization – Focused on increasing the shear strength of a soil and control
the shrink - swell properties of a soil to improve the load bearing capacity of a
soil

During my studies in college, I learned AutoCAd from Autodesk. I am fluent in

technical languages of C and C+. I have tried my hand at Robotics and Arduino. I am
also skilled in using Revit and MS Office. I have participated and have certificated in
various events and festivals which were organized during my college tenure. Some of
the achievements are as follows:

 National level Certificate – Design of Earthquake Resistant Building

 Participation Certificate - Indian Engineering Olympiad
 University Level Certificate of scholar – College 1st, 2nd, 3rd year scholar
 Inter- college Level Structure designing Certificate
  Certificates of part of a workshops like Total station
 Participation certificate of an event of Roborun

My bachelor program gave me an opportunity to observe how the things worked in the
actual field of civil domain. I got a chance for industrial visits to Adani Mundra Port,
Adani Oil Refinery, Sardar Sarovar Dam and Saral Residency. I was quite lucky enough
to have been provided with an opportunity of internship. I have interned as a Design
Engineer with Sanchi Heights where I was a part of Research and Development team
and I learned to do structure analysis of a developing building. I have also interned with
Saral Residency as a Trainee Engineer where I was responsible to stay with the project
head and to help carrying out the entire practical test on working site.

The education system in India has been that of more theoretical approach rather than
imparting practical knowledge. Even while doing my bachelors, the exposure to the
knowledge I got was from the books, my industrial visits and internships. There was a
little practical exposure in the field of civil engineering. The approach I am looking for to
gain higher knowledge is majorly based on practical approach under the supervision of
experienced staff. The education outside India is more practical, is what I have heard.
The course I am opting for to study in Canada offers a fresh practical approach to the
whole program. Therefore, after much consideration, I decided to pursue my higher
education in a foreign country.

Canada being the land of opportunities has created a good reputation in the world of
education and has become the most ideal country for higher studies. Living and
studying in Canada can be very rewarding as it puts you at the center of great social,
cultural and educational opportunities. Canadian universities offer great practical
learning and also provide the very good platform for research areas which makes me
confident to pursue it and will be helpful in building a bright career for me. Also
studying in Canada is a great culture experience, as it will give an opportunity to
interact with people of diverse nationality and cultural backgrounds. Canadian
standards of education are far ahead in a global market in technological advancements.
It has a unique opportunity for the overseas students to gain valuable knowledge with
highly computerized and internationally recognized education standards.

The program focuses on the motive of refining the student’s skills for professional
endeavor to withstand as a holistic professional. The course is also offering research
topics as one of the core topic. I would be honoured if given a chance to pursue this
course from your university as I would like to make a change on a global level starting
from India. The professors are highly qualified, experienced and accessible. Moreover,
the teaching pattern is well-structured with modern techniques encouraging classroom
discussions rather than lecturing. Students here get opportunity to interact with the
technology in order to study and understand about the field and experiment and
research in their area of interest.

Founded in 19th century, Dalhousie University is one of the top notch institutions
offering quality education and fits in the definition of student centred university. It is
ranked amongst Top 50 Universities in Canada and ranked at 251st position in World
Rank 2017-18 by the Times World University Ranking. One of the most propelling
factors is the research oriented studies along with needful support and participation
from the experienced faculties. Besides, at Dalhousie University students have access to
a wide range of service including state-of-the art materials testing laboratories and
hydraulic modelling laboratory to practice, smart classrooms and resourceful libraries
accessible most of the time. My selected program encapsulates the state of the art
knowledge in the various aspects of the Civil Engineering. Therefore, if given a chance
of attending the detailed program at your esteemed university, it will be a matter of
honour to me.

I am aware that Masters of Engineering with focus on Civil Engineering program

demands capacity for hard work, determination and persistence. I am confident that I
am fully prepared to meet the exacting demands of your advance program in
engineering. I ensure to put in my best efforts with dedication and commitment. I am
sure, the quality knowledge and impeccable guidance will shape me to be in the
learning mode all my life opening the way for constant growth as a person and a
professional. I believe that this degree would further deepen my theoretical and
academic understanding of civil engineering within an international environment.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours sincerely,

Maitri Patel