LETTER OF INTENT

A good engineer is rule-driven while solving a problem where as a great engineer is inspiration and
purpose-driven. Having this mindset, I hold the conviction that all the endeavors across my professional
as well as personal life have been a consequence of 5 Cs – curiosity, commitment, creativity,
communication and confidence.
Introduced to computers as a subject in my third grade, and having both my elder sisters associated with
the same field of engineering, the plethora of computer science related content around had always piqued
my interest. My fascination with computers led my curiosity to get the better of me. I tried my hands at a
computer project of undergrad level, during my high school, and failed. This, however, proved to be a
mere stepping stone.
Acquainted with C and C++, an introductory course paved the way for me to explore data structures and
algorithms. Invigorated to acquire an in-depth knowledge of concepts, particularly in Mathematics and
Computers, helped me to deliver a meritorious academic record. Consequently, I procured a seat at the
INSPIRE Internship Program, by the Government of India. A program focused on guiding the students on
the path of becoming future research scientists. During a lecture by an IIT Bombay professor, he
mentioned that Computer science is the only field that has the caliber to pave way for potential innovations
and breakthroughs in all other fields. Enthralled by this statement, and comprehending that CS is
correlated proximately with all other fields, cemented my stance on pursuing a career in CS.
The commencement of my bachelor’s degree was brimming with zeal and excitement. Geared up to grasp
the opportunities, I consulted my teachers, seeking guidance with the learning resources to acquire
knowledge. Learning through courses on platforms like Coursera and Udemy, I interned during my
freshmen year where I learnt about the Microsoft Cognitive Services and the versatility of the python
language. However, my encounter with the real world computing, leading to my exploration of different
disciplines of computer science, started in my sophomore year. I started to attend global technological
events and meet-ups organized in India, by becoming a part of technical communities and groups. The
three major one-day events that played a key role in guiding me about the disciplines were the Google’s
Developer Fest, Nvidia’s Developer Connect and Microsoft Azure’s Bootcamp. The knowledge pertaining
to the specializations, acquired from the eminent speakers’ sessions, proved to be a kick-starter. Machine
Learning and AI attracted me the most. Intrigued, I took up courses related to it, and my passion deepened.
Before the commencement of my 5th semester, as a summer intern at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),
Kanpur, under the guidance of the professors, I worked on multiple group projects. Alongside enhancing
my theoretical knowledge and the mathematical concepts, I designed ML models, and learned working on
IOT devices like Rpi, Arduino, ESP-8266, and more. I worked on an obstacle avoiding Robot, and also on
projects that taught me web automation and data mining, and gave me an exposure to python libraries like
tensorflow, Selenium, Scrapy and many more. Interning with another company, I worked on automation
projects, prediction models like stock price detection, multi-face detection to automate launch of AWS
instance using neural networks, and also wrote technical articles. I gained more knowledge of ML and
Neural Networks, getting acquainted with computer vision using CNN architectures and NLP, deepening
my interests further.

As a being with varying interests, I sought opportunities that would help me grow in an all-inclusive
manner. I joined many technical and non-technical organizations. I worked as an event coordinator in
multiple teams and to expand my knowledge, I also volunteered for conduction of global hackathons. Apart
from this, I was among the founding members for an organization named Alexa Developers SRM, working
on voice technology, officially associated with Amazon Alexa, where I was the Operations lead, and guided
a team of 40 juniors and strengthened our reach through event conduction. Meanwhile, I also led the
technical team of over 400 students, of the college’s national level techno-management fest. The technical
communities I joined helped me to build a network in the tech-world with founders, evangelists, associates
and many more. With the spread of covid-19, I started freelancing, and chose assorted projects in varying
domains.. After gathering connections, I also founded a business organization called Adyywood, whereby I
assembled a team of 15 adept young minds to cater to projects from corporate firms, regarding Digital
Marketing, website and content development, SEO, analytics, event management and more, helping them to
generate revenue during tough times. Interacting with such great minds, I realized the significance of data
science and acknowledged its never-ending potential. Its capability to open doors to innovations, with
varied application, and knowing that my technical skills would be a great fit, I decided to dive deeper into
the domain, and with each step became more fascinated.
Delivering effective solutions to the problems that are afflicting the world is a responsibility of an
engineer. During my undergrad, I relied on the communities I was a part of, and the online content for
procuring knowledge. As a data analyst and data mining intern, I acquired deep knowledge of libraries
used in the data science projects. Apart from this, the internships I underwent also aided me in obtaining
an overview of the industrial requirements for the complete deployment of a project to the market and
taught me how the technologies like Docker, Jenkins, Kubernetes, Flutter, Mern stack and AWS are
equivalently significant. While learning these technologies, I came across articles and communities
focusing on the applications of these technologies. I developed a novel Azure cloud based automated,
secure user-level system for enhancing social media security utilizing existing research on AES encryption
and IP whitelisting, to tackle identity theft, privacy breach and other real- world issues. The manuscript for
the same has been published. I also tried my hands at projects like a Flask based web app for license plate
recognition using CNN, a docker and kubernetes WebGui, a docker app, a video app to create a client
server path, and much more.
After working on a few research projects independently, I focused more on real-world topics, and having
grasp in Convolutional Neural Networks, worked on a new research in Wireless Capsule endoscopy,
creating a multi-layered Neural Network, predicting 13 classes of abnormalities with an accuracy of ~98%.
Further, I have worked on other researches like Cassava disease classification, the tropical region’s major
source of carbohydrates. We aim for a better yield and minimal crop failure using more efficient CNN
architectures for disease detection. The literature survey being published, I have had encouraging results in
research and plan to publish my work in near future. My other projects are sentimental analysis, edge
detection and handwritten text recognition. Working on these, I realized the significance of data, and how
artistic it is to derive information from it.
Interested in gaining corporate experience after graduation, I joined Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., and
learnt about client application suites, specific processes, tools, and stacks used in the client environment
and develop business application solutions. I discovered how strongly Data science was integrated with the
industry. The corporate experience is a great learning curve, and I am getting trained in new technologies
and softwares used in the industry.
I have realized the humongous scope that technology holds for delivering fruitful solutions and the
betterment of the lives of all beings globally. My involvement with the communities, and projects,
uplifting the needier section of the economy, has contributed towards my consideration of pursuing a
Global Master’s program. A comprehensive knowledge through a structured Master’s in Computer
Science program would help me to procure opportunities, indispensable resources, and a platform to
implement them. The all-important experience will help me in acquiring my goal of working at the top-
grade firms, like Amazon, Microsoft and IBM, which seek high caliber graduates from Alberta, as a
member of their development team. I aim to widen my knowledge base significantly by pursuing a
doctorate at a later stage and make notable contributions towards the proliferation of technology.
Driving innovation for more than 100 years, I believe a Master’s degree in computing science from
University of Alberta, would instill in me the necessities to achieve my goals. Reflecting a good name in
CS, I am particularly interested in the university’s curriculum that befits the needs of an ideal computer
science engineer. It allows the flexibility to pursue the field by offering- multiple electives, proactive
research opportunities and promotes exploring new developments in CS. The university of Alberta has
always been at the frontlines of AI and ML developments, with professors immensely inclined towards
researches in the domains. Funding researches massively, and with the spread of technology in the sectors
of healthcare, e-society, finance, consulting and more, the university “leads with purpose,” a promise that
it has been fulfilling for a very long time. The strong connection that the university has with the industry
and the placement assistance it offers to the students through campusBRIDGE and career fairs provides
the students with numerous opportunities. The programs, services and resources like imYEG and ST
Innovations not only promote industrial research but enhance the business and innovation ecosystem in
Alberta. With a culture of studying hard and producing high caliber graduates, the University of Alberta
focuses on turning the challenges into strategic transformation. With some of the Canada’s, and even the
world’s best advanced research facilities and resources, the university tackles challenges big and small.
The expertise and collaborations of the skilled researchers and professionals is demanded by many
including: IBM, Google Brain, RBC, Servus Credit Union, 3M, Mercedes, Ford, GE, Amazon, Twitter,
Merck, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and many more.
Personally, the Alberta Diabetes Institute has been an inspiration. With advanced research being carried
out for the past 100 years, starting from James Collip, who held a lecturing position at the University of
Alberta, and worked to benefit the lives of the diabetics, the university has achieved milestones. Being a
Type-1 diabetic for the past 7 years myself, I have thoroughly read about the general advancements, and
the progress achieved by the researchers. It has showcased the immense caliber, scope and resources that
the university has to offer. The recognition offered to the researchers and students who bring laurels to the
university is really inviting.
I believe that the reputed faculty of college would guide me exceptionally in building a bright future. I
hope the admission committee shares my zeal and accords me with the opportunity of pursuing my
graduate studies at University of Alberta. I will utilize my skills with the best of my abilities to make the
university proud.