Name: Manmeet Singh Anand

Program: Masters In Computer Science

Semester: Spring

Statement of Purpose

Manmeet Singh Anand MS Computer Science

At my school, computer education began in the fourth grade. It soon caught my fancy and the
desire to excel in it and stay ahead began to obsess me. As I went on to the higher classes, I
started preparing myself for the various computer competitions held both inter and intra
schools. I took great pains to collect information about computers from various sources such
as IT books, magazines as well as from the Internet. My first morale-boosting moment came
in my 9th grade when I came out a runner-up in a competition called IBM ACE Quiz.

It was around the same time that I was exposed to world of computer programming which I
pursued ambitiously. Even though I wasn’t then fully aware of the career prospects of the
various streams of engineering education, I wanted to work with computers for a living

After high school when I entered engineering college for an undergraduate degree, computer
science was my obvious choice. The first year course gave me a good perspective on the
various disciplines of engineering. In my second year, I was exposed to Concepts of
Operating Systems. With keen interest I started understanding the concepts of Operating
Systems and began studying about the kernel of a Linux operating system. Later I studied
Database Management Systems. My prior knowledge of operating system enabled me to
understand the fundamentals of database management system better. Thereafter, I was totally
engrossed studying the architecture of Databases. Soon I was designing databases for various
case studies. And even today I harbor a strong ambition to design highly efficient databases
as well as fine tune the performance of databases.

Apart from theoretical and practical classes in Computer Science, a number of projects were
woven in to our curriculum. In the final year I worked on two projects, the first being
Network communications in digitally secure form through RIPEMD-160 hash function. The
second project was Stock and Invoice Management System for a local-based company named
Impulse Microelectronics Pvt. Ltd. We succeeded in designing the software that met almost
all their requirements and I believe it is still very much in use there. Subsequently, I gave a
presentation on XEN - The Virtual Machine Monitor. In my paper, I discussed para-
virtualization, a new technology at that time, which showed the way for better performance. I
selected XEN for my seminar because it was major technological sensation at that time
having a close relationship with operating system. Moreover, it promised increased ROI
(Return on Investment) and at the same time improving the hardware and software fault
tolerance. Beside, it gave me an opportunity to thoroughly understand virtualization. The
seminar was rated as one of the five best seminars in the year 2007 batch of Computer
Science students.

I have always had a good academic record which has stood me in good stead. It particularly
paid off at the time of on-campus recruiting. I was in the last year of my engineering program
when I was interviewed and finally selected by Tech Mahindra (formerly Mahindra British
Telecom), one of the leading Indian IT companies today. I joined this company in July, 2007
and since then have been working as an Oracle DBA. As part of my responsibilities I have
 Name: Manmeet Singh Anand
Program: Masters In Computer Science
Semester: Spring

supported databases of British Telecom in BTGS (BT Global Services), BTCOM (BT.com),
both part of BT Managed Services, and Corizon project. As an Oracle DBA, my job includes
configuring, monitoring, upgrading, and maintaining the database, resolving all issues,
automating as many tasks as possible, and so on. I possess a set of skills that include C/C++,
AWK, SED, Shell Scripting, Perl, Oracle 9i/10g, Linux / UNIX (RHEL, Fedora, SUN Solaris
OS, HP-UNIX, HP SPARC).

Having dedicated four years to the serious study of Computer Science at the undergraduate
level and after spending two years in the industry, I am excited to witness the ever-increasing
development in databases. The introduction of new features every year has led to better value
for money and higher efficiency. The features like Real Application Cluster, cloning, Oracle
APPS etc interest me a lot and inspire me to go for higher education in Computer Science
with specialization in Database Administration. I am convinced that nothing could be better
than the degree of MS from an esteemed University like yours.

In pursuing the course of the Masters in Computer Science I want to increase my gamut of
knowledge and get practically more associated with technologies and business solutions. My
present job has given me an insight into the project handling but I aspire to understand
cutting-edge technologies and contributing to it someday. Therefore I wish to return to my
academics in order to improve on my growth path.

I believe this university is one of the best of its kind in the MS program it offers for
Computer Sciences and this belief has been reinforced after visiting your official website.
Given the quality of research work in the field of database management systems in your
institution, I have no doubt that your Graduate School offers unlimited opportunities for an
aspiring student like me. It would be my privilege to interact with the researchers and benefit
by their pool of knowledge. I look forward to hear from you with an offer of admission to
your prestigious institution.