Statement of Purpose

I have successfully done my matriculation in 2010 with science major and F.Sc in 2012 in pre-
engineering from WAPDA Cadet College, Tarbela with A1 and A grades respectively. This was
a boarding college so I was in hostel from 2007 to 2012. Keeping in mind the growing IT
industry and its enormous scope in the near future; I decided to enroll myself in Bachelors in
Software Engineering at COMSATS Lahore whose IT department is ranked amongst the top in
Pakistan. I graduated from COMSATS in 2017 with a 2.66 CGPA. My bachelor's degree was a
dual degree so I also received degree from The University of Lancaster with 2.80 CGPA; with
which COMSATS is affiliated with. After my graduation I started job hunting and started as an
Associate Software Engineer at AJ Software Pvt. Ltd. (AJSPL) at the beginning of 2018 up till
now. I have recently taken my IELTS exam and have scored an overall band of 7.5.
During my job tenure in AJSPL my responsibilities were to develop software solutions including
testing, debugging, diagnosing and correcting errors. I also assisted in maintenances and
upgrades of existing software applications. I worked with QA team in preparing test cases, plans
and procedures. I analyzed and troubleshot application issues and prepared scrums for assigned
tasks to complete them within time limits. Attending team meetings to communicate project
status and discussing about new ideas and issues really polished my team working skills.
During my bachelor's degree I took a liking to database and data warehousing subjects and did
quite well in them. Their respective teachers also guided me to think about this as a career and
how all large enterprises need skilled intellectuals for big data mining and analysis. Most of my
term's projects revolved around data retrieval and data classification so, I have decided to pursue
my career in this particular field and become a Master of Data Science. Moreover, during my job
experience I have been learning new technologies and been interacting with big data a lot. This
would give me a head start during my masters.

After making up my mind regarding masters I started researching about what to do and where to
go. Many colleagues suggested German universities as they are cost effective. Although the
degree and courses offered were to be taught in English but not knowing the local language
would have been a barrier in every day interaction. Same would have been the case if studying in
China was considered. Another option for my master degree was United Kingdom as it’s also
cost effective. But the duration of Master degree in UK is only 1 year, thus it’s not acceptable or
recognized by Higher Education Commission (HEC). So it could be difficult to find the good job
in Multinational Firms with having UK degree in Pakistan.

Although this master's degree is also offered in various universities in Pakistan but considering
global ranking and quality of education many abroad universities supersede those here. After
doing some research I came to the conclusion that Australia is best suited to my requirements. I
have considered Macquarie University as a best fit for me as the course outline their aligns to
what I expect to learn. I also did some research on University of Wollongong but Macquarie
University has better ranking then the former furthermore, Macquarie University also couples
their students with different companies for real time experience so that they are work-ready at
the completion of their degree. This facility is not provided by universities in Pakistan.

I have chosen Australia because of its cultural diversity and modernity of a first world country.
Seeing for myself the day to day operations would give me insights to implement and compare
back home. I have never been much of an outdoor guy but from what I have heard Australia has
some very beautiful beaches and exotic animals that are not found anywhere else in the world; so
I am very much looking forward to explore the suburbs moreover I am a cricket fan and would
really love to enjoy some matches in the SCG. Pakistan has a very rich ethical culture and I plan
to bring that and my best behavior to Australia. I have also heard that Australians are quite
hospitable so hopefully I should fit right in. I have been in hostel before so home sickness
shouldn't be a problem though moving to a different continent is quite different but I think I am
up for the challenge. My father is a business man and landlord. He is in the transportation of
construction materials business. He will be sponsoring my studies and cost of living abroad.

On successful completion of my degree I expect to have a strong grip on data manipulation and
analysis and to be fully equipped with necessary tools to be a successful data scientist. On
receiving the degree, I plan to return to Pakistan and implement my findings and studies here. I
have been researching on the job opportunities for data analyst here in Pakistan and they are a
lot. Many multinational companies as like NETSOL, TRG, TERADATA, Systems Limited, and
i2cinc and many others have posted their job vacancies and there are not many candidates
qualified; so hopefully there won't be a problem for me to start my career as a data scientist in
Pakistan.

I have been accepted to study Masters of Data Science at Macquarie University for which I am
applying student visa so I would appreciate if given opportunity to study in Australia. I will fully
obey Australian Student Visa (subclass 500) conditions and Australian laws. I state that I am a
genuine student and a genuine temporary entrant to Australia. I also state that I have adequate
funds to bear the cost of my tuition fees and living expenses during my studies.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Haris Asad Bajwa