Exposure provides experience and experience provides learning.

This is the one lesson that I have

learnt through the extensive experience I have garnered in working with students and professionals
across countries as well as in my own country, India. Each task that I have undertaken and each goal
that I have aspired to has enriched me in its own way. I stand today as the sum of these experiences,
and yearn for more. My career goals are ambitious, but I have a plan for achieving them step by step.
Through this statement of purpose, I highlight my career motivations, how the Sydney Master of
Commerce can help me meet them, and how my prior experiences provide me a strong grounding to
aspire for my goals.
My short-term career goal is a position in Business Analytics (as a Business Analyst or internal
consultant). Through the range of experiences I have had and student initiatives I have led, analytics
has been the one consistent area which has always ignited my passion. Further, as an engineering
student, I have imbibed strong skills in mathematical analysis and data management. I believe these
skills are indispensable for the modern business manager, who must depend no longer on just
intuition and experience, but must employ analytics-focused tools to achieve his/her objectives.
In the long-term, I hope to lead the decision-science/Big Data/Analytics division of a large
Australasian or global organization. Today, harnessing data is becoming critical for the modern
enterprise. Big Data management and the insights gleaned through analytics are becoming critical for
business operations across business functions. For example, analytics is now critical in Marketing (to
glean targeted insights on customer buying history and habits), Finance (to accurate gauge risk),
Human Resources Management (to better map employee skills to open positions), and Operations (to
help optimize and benchmark business processes). As a senior manager in the Analytics division of a
global firm (such as GE, P&G, or Unilever), I hope to deliver fact-based business insights that will
help drive competitive advantage for my employer.
To achieve my goals, I need more than the general quantitative skills or technology skills that I have
gained through a bachelors in engineering. I need three specific skills to be successful in achieving
the career goals I aspire to. The first is a strong understanding of various business functions, that can
help me to understand where and why analytics can drive the most benefit, and not just how. The
second is an inculcation into business analytics - the science of harnessing data from across the
enterprise and using it to drive better business decisions. The third is familiarity with management
principles and decision-making tools and processes such as project management processes to be able
to manage various business workflows effectively.
Looking for a program that could give me skills across each of these three areas, I was delighted to
know about the Master of Commerce (MCom) program at The University of Sydney Business School.
The MCom is perfectly suited to help me realize my business goals for the following reasons.
One, as someone who comes in from a non-business background, I first need a strong introduction to
business functions and principles. The MCom is specially designed for graduates from non-business
backgrounds seeking a strong inculcation into business. The core courses span all the functional areas
of business - from Accounting to Strategy, Operations, Marketing, and Organizational Management.
The core also includes a course on Project Management - so important for the modern business
manager to be able to manage multiple, often conflicting, priorities at once. This strong foundation
and focus on imparting cross-functional business understanding makes the MCom well-suited to my
need for understanding business.

Two, the MCom program is unique in its focus on Quantitative Business Analysis skills. I hope to
pursue a twin-specialization at the school in Business Information Systems and Quantitative Business
Analysis. While my engineering background has given me good exposure to software systems, I need
to contextualize this in the sphere of business software. Quantitative Analysis invariable rests on a
foundation of technology, and understanding analytics together with business information systems
will give me an exceptional grasp in the area. These are exactly the skills that I need to be able to
pursue my career goal.
Three, my extensive international exposure has taught me that learning happens best collaboratively.
At The University of Sydney Business School, learning is enhanced through unique initiatives such as
the Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) and Peer Mentoring programs. The school has Student
Exchange tie-ups with top schools across the globe, including Europe, USA, and of course Asia.
Sydney is not just a school for teaching excellence - it is also a place where faculty insights are drawn
from cutting-edge research, supplemented also by the resources of research centres. With students
drawn from an international cohort of applicants, the learning environment at Sydney is truly global.
All of these factors make Sydney my top choice for Masters education in business.
Finally, I would also like to highlight some key points around why I believe I am a good fit for the
program. I understand that The University of Sydney accepts only the best and the most capable, and
through highlighting these experiences I wish to show the multitude of achievements which make me
confident of finding a place at The University of Sydney.
While I have been an excellent student and have done well academically, it is really in the many global
experiences I have had that I truly differentiate myself. For the last three years, I have been an active
member of AIESEC, the international student body, and the experience has truly enriched me.
As an AIESEC volunteer to Tanzania, I led 20 students as part of my project on TAGDEP (Tanzania
Generation Development Pipeline), also helping raise 80,000 shillings (just about 200 AUD, but a
significantly high sum in impoverished Tanzania) for the initiative. Working on the issue of Child
Development, I braved language issues and adjusted to an unfamiliar culture. Delivering a lecture at
the University of Dar es Salaam (the largest university in Tanzania), I motivated 10 students to join
our cause. This experience motivated me to further explore global avenues for learning.
As a result, I took the opportunity to go for Summer School to London School of Economics and
Kings College, London, taking courses on Financial Markets and Strategic Management respectively.
The former course taught me, for the first time, how markets operate, how global markets are
interconnected, and how different financial instruments afford different financial privileges to their
owners. It opened my eyes to the vastness of the global financial system. The course on Strategic
Management instead gave me learning on a different dimension - the analysis of competitive
pressures, strategies to counteract them, and also exposure to common tools for competitive
assessment. These course stimulated my interest in business and motivated me to explore more.
Through my performance at summer school, I also bagged another internship to CRCC Asia (a
student internship organization) in Shanghai, China. The Chinese experience taught me about how a
business works in principle and the importance of combining global knowledge with the local, and
also gave me insight into China as an emerging business powerhouse. Each one of my international
experiences has taught me to be open to new experiences, not afraid of them, for they bring learning.
I am excited at the prospect of being able to continue the journey at The University of Sydney, quite
easily my first choice for Masters education.