STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

ABOUT ME & FAMILY BACKGROUND:

I would like to introduce myself as Akshaykumar Hirapara. I stay in a joint family with
my father is having his own construction business. My mother is a home maker. I
have an elder sister who is married and well settled in India. My brother in law is
having his own business. Another sister of mine is married and well settled in India.
My brother in law is working in a private firm in India.
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND:
I would like to give a brief introduction about my educational background. The 10 th
standard examination conducted by GSEB (Gujarat Secondary Education Board) of
Gujarat state, I scored 85.54 % in March 2010. Then after I took admission in 12 th
standard into science stream from GSHEB (Gujarat Secondary & Higher Education
Board) of Gujarat state and I secured 72% in March 2012. After the completion of my
higher education I had joined for Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) in Gujarat
Technological University, Ahmedabad. And completed it in June 2016 with 7.13 CGPA
out of 10.

After completion of my studies I started looking out for job and finally I got an
opportunity to work with Samarth Developers as a Site Supervisor from September
2016 to till date (Documents attached in visa file. My role and responsibilities at work
includes visiting construction sites and advise contractors regarding the execution of
civil & structural work, undertake technical and feasibility studies and site inspection,
Assess the potential risks of specific projects, prepare progress reports, Co-ordinate
with architect, subcontractors and client, Project management with respect to
maintaining time frames and budget, scrutinizing bills and to furnish relevant data &
information. After working for almost 1 years now, I feel I am not getting enough
exposure and am constantly losing the opportunity to increase my knowledge thus
by hindering my growth prospects. During these years, I did try for better
opportunities and explored prospects of working in a bigger better environment of
major infrastructure companies. However, not having a master degree hindered my
cause and I was deprived of a higher position in my career. I realized the need of
sound technical knowhow of the subject, which can only be gained by further studies
in a developed intellectual environment. Thus, I decided, if I have to gain a hierarchy
in my position in an acceptable time frame in India, I definitely have to get an
international qualified education which is then well recommended in India as well.

After discussing the same with my parents and after taking a close analysis factor and
as we have strong economic ties here in India, I decided to pursue the education
from overseas. I visited few many educational consultants which included Rao
Consultants, Yuranus, NEC, VIEC, AECC and then I realized that majority did not have
direct tie ups with the universities and they also were taking heavy consultancy
charges and process through other agents but was very much convinced on going
ahead with Australia. However, it was only AECC among all which were having all
direct tie up and they gave me authentic information and as they were not a MARA
agent they did not speak anything apart from student visa process which very well
met the mind set I had in my mind. Then they had an in-house visit wherein I met
various educational consultants Mr Gurbir from Central Queensland University, Mr
Vishal from CSU, Mr Piyush from La Trobe University and Mr Basab from Deakin
University and all of them were having the course of my preference and then after
knowing that CQU is providing me with 20% scholarship for Masters of Management
for Engineers which is the perfect combination of engineering and management and
so I finalized on the same. I started my preparation for IELTS from April 2017 to May
2017 and secured an overall score of 5.5 in IELTS. My scores were low and was not
meeting the Master’s Program requirement. I had 2 choices to make firstly re-do the
test of English proficiency or study 10 weeks of Elicos Program. Doing PTE or IELTS
again will not be beneficial because the training centers are not well equipped and
there is not much difference in the teaching methodology. I will not be able to score
well with such training. Thus, we decided to take 10 weeks of Elicos leading to
Masters of Management for Engineers at CQU Melbourne. I am sure this 10 weeks of
Elicos will help me to learn the way the assignments need to submit in Masters along
with strengthening my communication skills. Secondly studying English from an
English-speaking country will have more advantages for me. The Elicos program for
10 weeks will not only polish my speaking skills but I will be trained on all the
modules. Further I will learn my basics right. By doing Elicos I can understand the
language in better manner and while I do my degree program the skills will come
handy when I do my assignments, projects presentation etc. At one point, I did think
of studying in India but it was very clear that by studying outside India would give
me exposure and lift my confidence level. I started my admission process for CQ
University on 13th July 2017 and got the offer on 4th August 2017. After that I started
the finance process and submitted the same on 16 th August 2017 and received the
approval for the same on 21st August 2017 and paid the fees on 24th August 2017.

WHY NOT OTHER COUNTRIES AND REASONS FOR STUDYING IN AUSTRALIA

Australia is a developed country and the Australian education helps students to

develop comprehensive personality through theoretical and practical education.
While comparing the avenues of specialization. Australia has become a preferred
study destination for thousands of Indian students as well. Australia has safe and
multicultural society; my seniors have also referred Australia as the top destination
for higher studies. Government organization in India accept Australian degrees. The
cost of living and the tuition fee in Australia is low as compared to USA and UK
wherein the currency value for 1USD= 65INR, 1GBP=91 INR whereas 1AUD= 51INR.
The country has most comfortable admission process and do not require any
GRE/GMAT/SAT for the admission process unlike USA and Canada. The semester
system will help me to complete the course much quicker so that I can come back to
India and start my career. It is a safe country and there is no discrimination based on
caste, creed or color. Australia is currently the third most popular destination for
international students in the English-speaking world, behind the USA and the UK.
There is no GRE exam which is to be given for the admission purpose like USA and
CANADA. I very well know that I would be getting my qualification from a public
funded institution wherein the courses are accompanied by CRICOS code and ESOS
act unlike other countries like UK wherein the student is not protected in case if the
university/ college shuts their operation. Also, the degrees from UK are 1-year
degrees which are basically the compressed version of education and is not
recommended in India. As I am from the Gujarat region of India, the weather of
Australia is very much acceptable to me in comparison to countries like Canada, USA,
and UK wherein the weather conditions are not at all favourable. Thus, I believe it is
the perfect destination for my studies.

WHY NOT STUDY IN INDIA

After studying for 16 years in India, I realized the education system that is been
followed is very much outdated. The curriculum is very much theoretical in nature
and doesn’t have any practical exposure to the students, which give an edge to the
career. In India if I have pursued my further master studies I must undertake GATE
examination as a part for the admission into good universities. The courses which are
available are quite generic and it doesn’t have any kind of specialization. The courses
which are been available in my home country are Master of Engineering (Civil) and
Master of Technology (Civil). So, I thought rather than doing it from India it’s better
to do my master studies from Australia as I would get an internationally recognised
degree and I would be having more practically learning experience.
REASON TO CHOOSE MASTER OF MANAGEMENT FOR ENGINEERS

The main reason I desire to study master of management for engineers is because it
is completely new and yet entirely related with my past studies and essential required
to sketch my future professional career more effectively. Basically, I come from
technical background where I have completed my undergraduate studies in Civil
Engineering. Through this I have exceled in my technical aspects but during my
entire curriculum of studies since higher secondary studies I never studied anything
about business, commerce and managerial aspects which also forma an equivalent
part of our professional role because for any individual, according to me market and
analysis is must to understand the ongoing trends of markets, customer choice and
most importantly to understand our own organization its team and its ultimate goal
so to accomplish the entire work in systematic way which can satisfy everyone's
needs and requirement including every stakeholder of company. I choose
management program focusing on engineering skills and abilities because being a
civil engineer, I must perform my job roles according to the project allotted.

Hence here I will be learning entire qualities required to perform in team on various
engineering projects. I need to understand the skills of analysis one’s expert qualities
to get work done in an expert way. The study of this program will enrich me with the
following new skills such as Better Efficiency in Delivering Services;
Improved/Increased/Enhanced Customer Satisfaction; Enhanced Effectiveness in
Delivering Services; Improved Growth and Development within a Team; Greater
Standing of Market aspects, Finance procurement & its allocations, Government rules
& Regulations in this Competitive Edge; Opportunities to Expand Services; Better
Flexibility; Increased Risk Assessment; Increase in Quality & Quantity, etc. in and all
this program focuses on both the hard technical and soft human aspects of project
management as used in large commercial and public organizations.

When I shortlisted the university as per the representative I met in the fair wherein
Deakin University and La Trobe University were providing me an Elicos of 10 weeks
and above, also Deakin has Masters of Civil Engineering (Professional) offer at
Geelong campus which is 75 Kms away from Melbourne CBD moreover they had a
specialization on Engineering Management which just had 4 subjects and the entire
course was not concentrated on the specialization and the tuition fees was 32000
AUD. Also, La Trobe was offering course on Project Management and their
engineering management required work experience which I was not eligible for. CSU
was providing an MBA which was costing 26704 AUD which had 4 specializations but
did not have any unique component and thus I finalized on Masters of Management
for Engineering by CQU. CQU to be found was in all types of industrial, commercial
and third sector organization.

Although many of graduates at CQU are recruited by larger employers, the breadth
of this course means that graduates are flexible enough to excel in smaller
organization which rely on multi-skilled employees, the course in the program
contributes to management of engineering projects, Programs and organization. This
program will help me to identify my career opportunities and meliorate
employability. The course structure is extremely beneficial which consists of core
subjects such as Research in Business, Strategic Business Management and
Professional Projects which cover business analysis in market scenario. Out of nine
core subjects previous three are mandatory and university gives alternatives to pick
out 6 obligatory theme out of 12 which include People and Organization,
Organizational Governance and leadership, Operational Management, Innovation
and Sustainable business development, Project Management Concept, System
Science and Engineering, Accounting and Management Decision Making,
Management Law. There is range of facultative topics from which student get
flexibility to choose 4.

I found this program is healthy combination of practical & theoretical studies on top
of this it consists of subject that I never studied before and require working on it.
Hence, I am confident on my program selection and its learning. The university has
given me VC Scholarship due to my strong educational background; apart from that I
will be getting a 10 week of internship into the curriculum which will be quite
beneficial for me.

PURPOSE OF CHOOSING THIS UNIVERSITY

CQU was established in 1967 at Rock Hampton. They have 15 and major of the
campuses are in the main cities of Australia like Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and
Rock Hampton. University provide all the major student support services like student
welfare, accommodation, airport transfer but one service which I like most is 24-hour
student care. University’s one of the campus located in Melbourne, one of the largest
and multi-cultural cities in the world so I preferred the Melbourne campus. This
engagement provides students the opportunity for multiple learning experiences,
enriching their learning process. Education courses are designed to deliver both
discipline-specific skills and generic transferable skills relevant to life-long learning.

With over 100 different degree programs to choose from, Central Queensland
University offers an education for everyone. Education curriculums provide one of
the best combinations of practical, classroom-based and theoretical, workplace-
based learning across any Australian university. CQU takes pride in visualizing the
student learning journey as a transformational learning curve supported by staff and
the university itself. The school is flexible, and aims to make study fit different
students' personal commitments and learning style. Students can choose to study by
distance learning, or enrolling either full- or part-time. Central Queensland University
ranks in the top 20% of Australian educational institutions for graduate starting
salaries.

CQU graduates are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to launch
successful careers in the international workforce. The university provides a wide
range of courses under Bachelors, Master by coursework, master in research into
various fields of Engineering, IT, Arts, Business & Health. The graduate employment
ratio is 81.10%. In just under 20 years, CQUniversity is emerging as one of Australia’s
truly great universities. The top universities rankings employ 13 performance
indicators to measure performance on each core mission. In 2015, CQUniversity
ranked in the top 501-600 group of universities, positioning them in the top 3% of
universities in the world. This result reflects in their commitment to research, learning
and teaching, international outlook as well as providing the best student experience.
They have small class sizes and that too having excellent student welfare and library
services. Central Queensland University is a public university with strong ongoing
relationships with its communities, industries, and businesses.
INCENTIVES TO RETURN:

My foremost goal is to finish my studies with good grade. My first aim is to complete
the degree successfully with excellent grades and then coming back to India as my
parents are here and I’m the only son of my mother and have to take care of my
parents assets which will be individually be on my name after the age of 25 worth 3.5
crores in the form of bond and debentures which will be shared between me and my
siblings. I would want to take care of them in their later stage of life by providing
him mental support and also carry various family responsibilities. It is the goals that
keep me connected to my reason of living. By the time, I would come back to India, I
would be in my marriageable age so I would like to get settle on a personal front
and would seek for better opportunity in my home country.

FUTURE GOALS:

Prior to making an firm decision on persuing my master studies from abroad , I

surfed for jobs on monster.com, indeed.com, naukri.com wherein freshers like me
were been offered a package of just 12000 INR per month in companies like Reliance
and Adani which I believed was too low because when I was making an estimate
calculation if I start with 12000 which now equal to the salary being paid to the clerk
working in government banks having the job timings from 10.00-6.30 then this salary
is not acceptable for a mechanical engineering graduate at all. I always believe that
the first step towards the life should be taken considering a lot of pros and cons.
Though I would get an opportunity to work in for corporates but I would not want to
get the remuneration as expected and then within a year time frame I would have to
take a jump in other corporate for a higher salary which will again not be more than
20000 per month which will again state an instability in my resume, that is so not I
am keen to do. That way, if I take an average of 3 years from now after completion of
an undergraduate qualification I would only end up earning 25000 per month which
is very low after such a demanding qualification and this clearly states that my
undergraduate qualification is very much insufficient.
This course will broaden my career opportunities by developing skills in technology
application and development, combined with business management. I am looking
forward to work for firms such as Adani, Reliance, Apollo Mechanical Industries, Asia
Infotech, AIA Engineering Limited with a package of 40000 per month and then after
2 years looking forward to work for Suzuki, Honda, L&T, Infosys on a package of
60000 per month on various positions such as Material Handling Executive, Project
Supervisor Sr Quality Controller, Sr Production Supervisor, Engineering Executive,
Planner and I am sure that I will achieve my goal given a valid chance.

OBLIGATION UNDER 500 SUBCLASS:

• I need to maintain 80% attendance.

• I need to clear 50% of the subjects.
• I will be allowed to work for 40 hours per fortnight.
• I cannot change the university for 6 months upon the enrolment.
• I must have valid health insurance during the stay in Australia.
• I must notify to the University/DIBP if I change the address /contact details
within 7 working days.

Akshaykumar Hirapara