STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Degree Applying: Master of Science in Production Systems Engineering

Since my childhood, I have always been passionate about how mechanisms around me work.
From a simple bicycle chain to the automatic transmission of the vehicles, the logic involved in
mechanical sciences has intrigued me. This coupled with a habit of disassembling and
assembling every component that I could lay my hands upon indicated that Mechanical
Engineering is where my interest lies. The milieu of a competitive peer group combined with the
urge to excel academically instilled in me the virtue of hard work and resulted in securing a seat
in BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore, which is one among the old and elite Engineering
colleges in India.

The subjects that were of greater interest to me during my early days of engineering were
Machine design, Theory of machines and Mechanical Vibrations. Referring to technical journals
of IEEE, SAE and active participation in conferences held by ISHRAE and MEA helped me
keep abreast of technological trends and sourced effective learning. As a person who believes in
learning practically, I induced myself in several technical extracurricular activities. The
construction of a ‘Remote Controlled hovercraft’ and the course in ‘automotive servicing &
maintenance’ enlightened me on the subtle relationship between Design and Manufacturing and
encouraged me to delve deeper. In order to satiate this desire, I took the subjects Theory of
elasticity, Finite Element Analysis and Tribology & Bearing design and worked on 2 research
projects namely ‘Tribological Evaluation of Vegetable oils’ at Indian Institute of Science (IISc),
Bangalore and ‘Use of Magneto rheological fluids as external damping medium’ at the R&D
centre of BMS college of Engineering, Bangalore. These helped me gain insight on the practical
aspects of research in the field of Tribology and Vibrations, respectively. I also presented a paper
on the topic of Magnetorheological fluids at a National level conference. My efforts were
honored through a scholarship from the Alumni.

Toyota Kirloskar Motors – a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation offered me a job after my
undergraduate study. Due to my interest in automobiles, I gladly accepted the offer and was keen
to translate the conceptual knowledge gained through my bachelors and to apply the practical
skills acquired during my projects and extracurricular activities, into mainstream production of
high end automobiles. As a shell body quality engineer for Innova, corolla and fortuner models, I
got the opportunity to work on different aspects of automobiles manufacturing and quality
control. Broad job roles such as development of parts for new models, Process and part quality
control as per Toyota Standards, implementation of engineering changes and Toyota production
system at supplier, Analysis of body accuracy data and problem solving using QC tools imparted
such knowledge, that it changed the way I perceived the importance of manufacturing processes
in Mechanical Engineering. It made me realize the role played by manufacturing technology in
the success of a component design. On the non technical front the experience at Toyota has
taught me how to handle work pressure efficiently. Interactions with the counterparts in other
countries and working in a team gave me a good foundation for effective relationship building. It
has instilled in me, the method of tackling problems through planning and systematic work. My
tenure at Toyota has facilitated my transition from a novice to a well groomed professional.

It has been 18 months since the start of my professional career. Though it has enlightened me on
various aspects of product development, manufacturing technology and process control, it has
not provided the opportunity to probe deep into the subjects as the emphasis is on meeting strict
deadlines. I firmly believe that the desire to gain deeper knowledge in the field of Production and
Manufacturing Engineering can only be satiated through a more structured and focused learning.
This is precisely what a graduate study at RWTH Aachen university offers.

I have followed up with the research activities of the Mechanical Engineering Department
(WZL) such as FEM analysis of forming and machining, tribology in metal forming, design
studies and construction of machine tools, dimensional tolerance management etc. I am
extremely impressed with the knowledge it has to offer. I would be really exited to get an
opportunity to study at your university and I believe that it will offer me the right platform to
work on contributing towards the technological development in the area of Production and
Manufacturing Engineering.

I bring with me a strong academic background and relevant professional experience in the field
of design and manufacturing engineering. I am confident of accomplishing the high standards of
competence set by the graduate program at your university. I hope to have a lasting association
and script a bright future through RWTH Aachen University. I strongly concur with the quote by
Napolean Hill –“Patience, Persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for
success “

- Mithun Balanageswaran Athreya