STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Praven Pappusamy Rajendran

mailforpraven@gmail.com
Technische Universitt Chemnitz-Micro and Nano Systems (Winter 2013)


My home city Coimbatore, is an industrial town with many entrepreneurs and
proprietors. It is a hotspot for textile manufacturing, automotive parts manufacturing and
machinery manufacturing. My zeal towards Electronics originated when I read that a
newly wed couple survived a horrific car crash in my city, because of Air Bags. I never
expected that this piece of news in a daily magazine would shape my career. I was
curious to know what was actually behind the technology. This curiosity has now
developed into a passion to electronics.

Ever since I was in school I would see my father, a Telecommunications Engineer
working with a room full of electronic gizmos. Although I could not understand their
inner functioning, I still tried to learn by questioning my father. This also triggered my
passion to pursue a Bachelors degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering.
But I had to get through highly competitive common exams to get into a good college. So
I took up the challenge, studied hard and was successful with 95% marks.

I joined Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College, a premier engineering institute in
my state. In my freshmen year, even before I was introduced to any circuit designing
courses, I designed a security system that could sense an intruder and sound an alarm.
This demonstration of my faculty and natural aptitude in engineering earned me several
accolades in my department and I was invited to serve as an executive member in
Association of Electronics and Communication Engineers Society (ASELCOME). I was
later elected the secretary of ASELCOME on merit of my scholarly contributions to the
department.

In the following year, I was introduced to the concepts of microprocessors and
microcontrollers and was immediately hooked. I started reading books, journals and
experimenting with trainer kits out of my own time and inquisitiveness. I was also
curious to see how this technology was implemented on large scale in industries. So I
started visiting local industries, which produced automated machines for food industries,
textile industries, etc. I was amazed to visualize that even the tiniest of the parts
contributed to a large functioning of the machines. This prompted me to learn more about
the underlying systems.

I am currently working on my final year project - Low Cost DAQ Card for
Industrial Automation using ARM. I am working on to construct a Gadget, which can
control and monitor Industrial machines from remote area. At the core of this gadget is
the ARM 7 Processor, which will be programmed using Keil uVision. I wanted to take up
the challenge of learning a new IDE i.e. Keil uVision. Industries usually use RISC based
DAQ Card for monitoring the physical properties of a machine. But using a much
superior ARM processor I obtained the improved functionality, which is also much more
economical. It has helped me realize that there is always scope for enhancement no
matter how refined things might seem.

In my final year of study, my leadership qualities were tested when I became the
Placement Coordinator for recruitment of students in my department. I have shown
ample panache to reflect the natural leader that I am. Managing campus recruitments has
taught me valuable lessons in planning, importance of time management and acceptance
of responsibility. The opportunity to interact with company professionals from Technical
and HR Departments and students from various establishments has also aided in the
development of my interpersonal skills.

I have recounted some of my life experiences here to show that I not only have a
passion for electronics but also to show that I used every opportunity that I had to the
fullest in order to learn and gain invaluable real life experiences.

Through my friends and relatives living in Frankfurt I came to know about the
amiable nature of German people and their rich and vibrant culture. I was also fascinated
about their seasonal festivals and the beautiful tourist places, especially the medieval
castles and palaces. This brought a desire in me to learn the German language and
culture. On the course of completing 225 hours of German language course (A1 & A2) I
also came to know about the excellent educational system and challenging work scenario
in Germany and this cemented my decision to pursue my Masters degree in Germany.

The German universities with their highly competent professors offer quality
education, moreover studying in Germany is affordable. Manufacturing and research are
the foundations of Germanys economy, which can be seen in their emphasis on excellent
design and workmanship of their products. This pursuit of perfection is also the reason
behind great educational institutions like the Chemnitz University of Technology. The
university stands exceptionally high in encouraging and providing world-class research
facilities and i want to pursue M.S. in Micro and Nano Systems at Chemnitz University
in the hope to broaden my understanding in the fabrication, design and applications of
miniaturized components in the field of electronics. I believe that with well-equipped
laboratory and research facilities offered in collaboration with companies like Siemens,
Bosch and Motorola, the institution will provide a perfect environment to focus all my
resources towards my goal.

It is my intent to use this wealth of knowledge in unison with Chemnitz
University to develop a cutting-edge industry, with core aim of taking the world forward
by inventing and reinventing technology. I want to create a platform for engineers to
contribute towards a more technologically advanced future.


Praven