SOP for MS in Engineering Management
Joel Barker's pithy saying, "Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just
passes the time. Vision with action can change the world!" distinguishes an entrepreneur from others.
An entrepreneur acts to bring visions to reality. I have longed to be one and have learned from my reading
that modern entrepreneurs have all worked to use technology for the betterment of our lives. Therefore,
I decided long ago to study engineering and did not miss any opportunities to learn how the machines in
our everyday life worked. In my school days, I used to listen to audio cassettes on a tape recorder. When
I learned the difference between mono and stereo recording, I thought of converting two mono recorded
audio cassettes into a single stereo cassette, recorded in mono mode using the cassette LEFT and
RIGHT channels as separate channels, to be heard in sequence, not together. To my delight, the idea
worked and resulted in compacting two cassettes into a single mono cassette.
With good scores in the science subjects, I could choose the engineering stream to take up for
Bachelors. I chose Electronics & Telecommunication, because of its wide, interdisciplinary span and the
ever increasing use of electronics in every branch of modern science, from Astrophysics to Medicine. It is
a field rich with opportunities for an entrepreneur. The curriculum of University of Pune introduced me to
the basics of several subjects, such as Digital Signal Processing, Integrated Circuit Application, Computer
Networks, Digital Communication, System Programming and Operating Systems and application of
theories in practice through lab work and team projects.
Presently, I am studying in the final semester of the Bachelor's program. Though technological
proficiency and creative genius are the internal strengths of an enterprise, another determinant of
success in competition in an environment full of uncertainties is possession of management skills. From
the MS program in Engineering Management, I look forward gaining the knowledge and skills in courses,
such as Concepts of Financial and Management, Accounting, Management of Engineering Teams,
Financial Engineering and Engineering Project Management while keeping up with the developments in
the field of technology.
The discipline of engineering management originated in the USA. Therefore, that is the best
place to study it. From browsing through the websites of several universities in the USA, I realized that
the program offered by XXX University meets my career needs best. I am particularly attracted by the
research initiatives such as YYYY which are squarely in the areas of my interest.
With the above aim, during the Bachelor's program, I paid particular attention to entrepreneurship related
courses. The sixth-semester course in Industrial Management I earned the distinction. It introduced theories
of Total Quality Management, Convergence of Technology Information Integrity and System Dynamic
Modeling Software-Stella. In the seventh semester, I took Electronic System Design as the elective and
learned the steps in product design such as market survey, R&D, and prototypes, environmental testing,
documentation, and reliability. I was one of the 135 students selected to attend the workshop on Design
Innovation organized by COEP, Pune and MIT Media Lab, USA. As a part of it, my product development
team consisting of engineering, Business, Arts, and Management students, I realized the essentiality of a multidisciplinary approach in developing the successful technical product.
By the end of the seventh semester, I ranked eighth in my class of seventy-four students with
a score of 61 percent. Being a member of IEEE societies for communication, circuits and system and
consumer electronics helped me keep up with the latest developments in technologies. In the third
year, I was elected chairman of IEEE student chapter of our college. I attribute this to the social skills
that I developed from living in different parts of India and exposure to the diverse cultural traditions of
those different parts. As the chairman, I took the initiative to publish the first departmental newsletter
and became its editor. This experience underlined the importance of team-work in such complex tasks
and leading and motivating the team and focusing its efforts on a single goal. Another achievement was a successful organization of 'Perception,' the national-level technical event of the College, which attracted about 9000 visitors. It was a tremendous effort involving fundraising, publicity, and general management.
In another context, as a member of Ignited Innovators of India, a group of BHAU Institute of COEP, I
worked to improve the college campus. I was in charge of collection and recycling of used paper.
As an undergraduate, I have striven to achieve well-defined career goal and to develop my
aptitude towards technology, curiosity, proficiency in academic subjects to achieve that goal. The
Master's program in Engineering Management will be a major step to span the gap between what I am
and what I want to be; that is, a techno-commercial entrepreneur in India, where there is a vast scope
for development of indigenous technology and availability of trained and expert manpower. Above all the
MS program will be an opportunity to work with the guidance of expert professors and to compete with
international students, which will prepare me to meet the challenges in the real world. I look forward to the
positive response of the admissions committee to open to me the portals of the XXX University.
