STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

FAMILY BACKGROUND:

If I say about my family, I belong to a nuclear family. My father is expired. My mother is

a home-maker. I have an elder brother who is businessman by profession and is married

and well settled in India. My sister in law is a home-maker. I got married to Abrar

Jahurbhai Vahora on 24th August 2015. My husband has completed his education in

Bachelor of Computer Application in April 2014. He is working in a IT firm as a

Developer. My Father in law is a businessman by profession. My mother in law is a

housewife. My brother in law is working in our family business and is well settled in

India.

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND:

In the 10th standard examination conducted by GSEB of Gujarat state, I secured 65.23%

in March 2009. After that I took admission in the Higher Secondary School affiliated by

Gujarat Secondary Education Board and choose commerce stream. In standard 12 th, I

achieved 74.44% in March 2011. After the completion of my High Secondary Studies, I

enrolled myself into Bachelor of Computer Application from Sardar Patel University and

secured 7.73 out of 10 CGPA in April 2014.

After completion of my bachelor studies I started to work with an IT firm called

Madhuram Infotech as a Web Developer from October 2014 to December 2016. During

that tenure, I realized that the education provided in Gujarat is more theoretical and less
practical. The assistance of the faculty is not of an international level and even the kind

of teaching which is quite outdated. No exposure is being given to the students during

the study period which would benefit me towards the growth of my career. I feel the

three most important points I learnt so far from my work experience, is firstly the ability

to understand what drives a business, and the processes needed to help resolve any

barriers to continued growth and profitability.

Secondly being able to look beyond the numbers to the business trends and drivers, and

thirdly being able to work to deadlines and handle pressure.

Thus, I realized that to have a successful career and have vertical growth I need to

persue my education further. So, I decided to go to Australia with the aim to pursue my

Master studies. During my job, itself I was preparing for the IELTS examination and

appeared for the exams on 22nd October 2016 and secured 5.5 bands. Then like any other

student I did a long research over the options for my higher education in abroad, I came

to conclusion that I would go for English for Academic Purpose (Direct Entry) leading to

Master of Information Technology from Central Queensland University. The reason to

study English program is because, my IELTS score was not meeting the English

requirement. By doing ELICOS program in Australia I will be learning English in an

English-speaking country which will definitely polish my skills. By the time, I commence

my master, I will have good english knowledge. Also, the skills will give me better way

to present my assignments and allow me to communicate in better manner.

Before applying for Australia, I did research about possible study options in India.

However, I came to know that in India, I will be required to write GATE entrance

examination and admission will be based on the score that I will secure. The number of

seats available in good universities are very limited, and due to severe competition and

reservation, I dropped the idea of pursuing my master degree from India. As USA & UK

is also most chosen international destination I did research about them as well, however

based on the feedback I received from my seniors, friends & elders I opted for Australia.

UK offer master degree which are of 12-14 months which is been not accepted by the

Indian companies and degree is not acceptable at par. USA is quite expensive and living

expenses are quite high. On the other hand, Australia offers globally accepted degree at

an affordable cost.

REASONS FOR STUDYING IN THE AUSTRALIA

As I mentioned before the reason of studying in India was not an option due to my own

experience during graduation and the options available in India was very much not of

my preference. Moreover, when it comes to Australia my research gets me to the fact

that Australian education has the quantity and variety, but it is also worth noting that

the country leads in quality. Seven out of the top 100 universities in the world can be
found in Australia. Their university system also ranks 8th in the world, ahead of

countries such as the UK, Germany and Japan. With these, Australia is recognized as a

country that offers world-class education. The quality of education is important, but

another significant aspect of choosing a location or university is student life. Australia,

in fact, has 6 of the 40 best student cities in the world. A survey has revealed that 88% of

international student respondents are satisfied or very satisfied with living in Australia.

This is not surprising, as Australia is the fourth happiest country in the world. With

these positive features of studying in Australia, it is no wonder that it is the 3rd most

popular international student destination in the world. With approximately more than

22,000 courses in 1,100 institutions, a great number of fields or study areas are

available, making it highly likely that you can take up your choice of degree, training or

course. The weather of Australia is very much moderate as I did not want to go for

CANADA/UK having very much extreme temperatures. The education system of

Australia is very much like India and does not require any other entrance examination

to be cracked apart from English Proficiency. The degrees from Australia is

internationally recommended just like Maters of IT been accredited by Australian

Computer Society.

REASON TO CHOOSE MASTER OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

I come from throughout technical background. Since my early teenage I am fascinated

towards computers which has inspired me to research more on its functions. Due to this

I decided to take up computer science & engineering as the stream of study and career.
Further in order to excel in this field more into software side I decided to take

information technology. The reason to choose this as my major because I have already

studied its basics & fundamentals during my under graduate studies. Also, I have

undertaken the projects on same subject, hence during my past studies, projects and

work experience, I have observed that there is a rapid growth in the field of software

development as today we live in the age of information which is available in a simple but

major issue is to get relevant informative data at required time which has given rise to

development of various application.

The Master of Information Technology course which I have chosen to study is focusing

on mobile application development, software design and development and networks

and information security and these are supported by an available minor in Project and

Program Management. Out of these majors I have selected mobile application

development to build my professional knowledge and skills in it. The course has 11 core

subjects like Introduction to Programming; ICT Services Management; Information

Systems Analysis and Design; Responsive Web Design; Professional Skills in

Information Communication Technology; Mobile Web Apps; App Development for

Mobile Platforms; Mobile App Development Project; Mobile Game Development;  e-

Business Systems; Business Process Management; Business Intelligence using Big Data;

Knowledge Audits for Business Analysis; ERP Systems Management; Cloud Computing

for Smart Applications; Computer Forensics; etc.

teaching I will also be exposed with practical environment which will help me to get well

versed with the latest developments in the information technology industry, it’s likely

future directions and its likely impact on organizations and society in general, to

understand the role of people and technology in managing knowledge and information

in business, to analyse and model organisational goals and requirements, including the

legal, ethical, social and cultural issues that affect the use, design, and implementation

of information systems to construct and evaluate robust and reliable systems by using

standardised industrial hardware and software platforms and test tools along with this it

will help me to develop the skills of working independently, as a leader, or a member of

a team employing appropriate interpersonal, professional and technical communication

skills.

Considering my own interest & these aspects, I decided to take this course for my master

studies. The course is being accredited by Australian Computer Society. Moreover, the

highlight of the program is it has 10 weeks of internship into the program which would

be very beneficial and would open wide opportunities for me on a career front.

PURPOSE OF CHOOSING CENTRAL QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY:

When I thought to persue my Master studies I did lot of research about different

universities who provide Master of Information Technology course like Western Sydney,

Macquarie University, University of Technology Sydney. But Central Queensland

quality, multi-city educational institution with a strong commitment to facilitating

students' learning process, enabling me to ' be what I want to be'. CQU was established

in 1967 at Rock Hampton. It was known as Queensland Institute of Technology. In 1992

it became a university status. It has 16 campuses overall in Australia such as Rock

Hampton, Gladstone, Mackay, Bundaberg, Emerald and Noosa, Melbourne, Sydney,

Brisbane & Perth. It has a Small class sizes, so the student gets a personalized attention.

I have selected Sydney Campus. It has wide range of courses into the Undergraduate,

Postgraduate, Master of Coursework, Master by research. It has one of the best

curriculums provided with a combination of practical, classroom-based and theoretical,

workplace-based learning across any university. It is being ranked in the top 20% of

Australian educational institutions for graduate starting salaries. My actual tuition fees

are AUD 50,688 for 2 years and the reason to choose CQU was its affordability. I

searched for the same courses in Macquarie, Western Sydney, University of

Technological Sydney and fees are very high for example in Western Sydney the fees are

$ 50,000, University of Technological Sydney $ 62,688 & in Macquarie it is $71,232.

Other important information is that CQU university graduate placement rate which is

81% is very high. CQU university has student library with 1000 of books online and as a

student I can access these for my studies. Another main reason behind choosing CQU is

I have secured VC scholarship. This will give me reduction of 20% in my total tuition

fees. Initially I will get the scholarship for the first semester and once I commence my
studies, I will be required to maintain a GPA of 5.5 and above to retain my scholarship.

By this scholarship, I will save around AUD 10,138 which is a very good amount.

INCENTIVES TO RETURN

I would like to finish my master studies with good grades and come back to India. Being

the only daughter of the family I have responsibilities towards my parents. Even my

spouse is the elder son in his family so he has to take care of his parents & siblings

responsibility and support them during the time of need. My family has an asset worth

Rs 2.5 crore which will be shared between me and my siblings. My spouse will also

inherit assests worth Rs 2.0 crore as a share from the family. Apart from this we have

friends & relatives in India and we are very close with them.

CAREER PLANS:

Once I come back I am looking forward to work for top MNC’S such as 19Studios, Zebu

Games, Axis Entertainment Limited, Juego Studios, GameEon Infotech on positions like

Application Developer, .Net Developer, Game Developer, Website Developer, Web

Designer wherein the average salary which I am expecting would be between INR

45,000 to 50,000 per month which is worth the investment I would make while in

Australia.
Afifa Vahora