STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.
I first came across this string of words so beautifully and meaningfully knitted together by
Anthony J. DAngelo, when I was gearing up for my university life, about four years from now. In
all honesty, I probably didnt pay much heed to this till instant I stepped into my first semester
for my Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (I&ME) degree from National University of
Sciences and Technology (NUST); I understood the worth of this beautiful quote. Looking around,
I grasped for a fact that to complete studies of my Bachelors, there are two routes that I can
take; I can either study only that is required of me and pass my exams or rather delve into my
hunger for understanding and learning the technicalities of the courses and focus on
establishing a firm foundation of understanding of any and every course that is put forth. I
certainly opted for the latter option. And this is not said here just because I am to write a certain
piece of article about myself that will determine my eligibility for admission in a good university,
but will also be proved by the diversity of projects (which are mentioned in the former parts of
this writing) that will show my grasp on the strong foundations of understanding and knowledge
Ive built during the four years of my studies as an Industrial and Manufacturing Engineer.
I come from the Sargodha region of Pakistan, which is not much of a hub of educational
institutes and secondary education, but my willingness and the passion towards Engineering is
what helped me accomplish my dream of becoming an engineer. In the summer of 2009, after
the completion of my Intermediate studies, I applied in NUST since the institute ranked top in
Engineering in Pakistan. I will remember the day I received my acceptance/admission letter from
NUST since my entire scope and lifestyle was about to be changed. NUST offered me an
admission in my preferred field of choice (I&ME) but I was to move to Karachi and live in an
entirely different environment. Ever since childhood, my father knew that I have a hunger for
knowledge. Machines, be it as simple as an iron or a toaster to as complex as a car or turbine,
appealed me. I would get my hands dirty and understood the working principle, the
components, their significance, their impacts in the entire process, the effect of using alternate
(but similar) components; I just had to know everything before I moved on to a different
machine. Growing up in an environment as that of Sargodha, it was expected of me too to follow
in the footsteps of my father, to pursue agriculture on our lands and take charge of it, but
looking at me personally, my family encouraged me to move ahead with Engineering if that is
what ticks me.
If there was anything that came even close to my passion for engineering, it was hockey. The
national game of my country Pakistan is hockey. And as an athlete and a good runner, this
particular sport took my attention. I do acknowledge the fact that there are other many sports
which require athleticism and running, but there was the majestic beauty of this sport that I
cant quite express in words that it called me towards itself. Practice, training sessions, latenight field trainings; I took part in everything and the result of which turned out that I was
selected in the Sargodha Hockey Team, which comprised of the best of the very best hockey
players of our city. I played on the position Left In, and it allowed me to be in a spot where I
could strategize an attack on the opposing team. I would be ungrateful if I dont mention here
that this sport helped me to strategize, to plan and also, to execute; all done in a very fastpaced setup of a Hockey match. It helped me adapt to the situations around me, to plan
accordingly and not just plan but also to move ahead and execute that plan and be a part of it
myself.

During the course of my studies, I lived in Karachi in the NUST Boys Hostel, and that itself was
an experience of its own. To survive the environment of a hostel, it is essential to sustain good
relations and bonds with not only ones own batch-mates, but with seniors as well. I came from
a background where I was in my own comfort zone when it came to studies or even enjoying,
but everything changed when I came into the hostel. There were a whole lot many different
students coming from almost all parts of Pakistan, and it was time for me to either adapt or be
absolutely isolated. Though isolation has its own perks, but my nature was so that when
provided with this opportunity of exposure, I embraced it, instead of resenting it. It taught me
many essential characteristics which I am quite proud of, the most crucial of which was
management. I had to manage everything; be it studies (since that was what I had actually
travelled so far for) but most importantly, I had to ensure that the world doesnt change me or
drift me from my passion of learning and thus I had to always be careful that I dont give in to
the temptation of becoming as one of those who only study only to get through with the
exams. I came here to maximize my strengths, and that is what I consistently kept my focus on.
My efforts on sustaining this balance were appreciated by the NUST Administration and for the
course of my senior year, I was appointed as the NUST Student Representative for Mess, of the
entire hostel. I was held responsible to allocate the menu of the week for the NUST Boys Hostel,
while keeping a vivid check on the resources, and to ensure that if and any student is student is
suffering from any complications howsoever; the Mess prepares a special meal for that student.
This particular post comes second to the most important positions a student can hold, and my
university has a dedicated ceremony for presenting these titles to the selected students.
My mind comprehends and understands more when I get the prospect of learning by actually
seeing something at work. For example, whenever the idea of delivering a functional, fabricated
project was put forth by my teachers, I found more thrilled and excited in comparison to when I
was just asked to learn something. Most of the softwares that I have an expertise on are the
ones in which I can make something that can actually be fabricated, and thus whenever I apply
the analysis on such projects; I get the sense of achievement of actually learning something
through visualization. In my course of studies, I have been a crucial member of any of the
projects assigned because of my extremely strong capabilities at Solid Works, Solid Edge and
ANSYS. These 3 softwares specifically are those over which I have an exceptionally high
command on, and the result of which was that I had single-handedly designed both, the Urban
Concept car and the Prototype Concept car, for Shell Eco Marathon 2013. From scratch, I
designed and analyzed both the cars for my university, and even in the fabrication process, I
was responsible of proof-checking all the components being added. My analysis for both the
cars, the stress analysis and the fluid-dynamics analysis, had made me aware that perfection
was the key to obtaining the desired results and that is why at every stage of the fabrication
process, I used to gear up, wear my safety goggles, and got down and dirty with working
countless number of nights on these cars. My engineering softwares know-how extends to
CATIA, MSC NASTRAN, MSC PATRAN, MATLAB, Lab View and AutoCAD as well.
Though working on the Shell Eco Marathon cars in the final year was in itself quite an extensive
task, I was also ensuring that my Final Year Project didnt suffer as a consequence of it. As a
group project, we opted to design, analyze and form the Tool Path Generation for a die of fuel
cell interconnect. Throughout the course of my 4 years of studies, I was an active part of
numerous other projects as well, most significant of which were design and fabrication of an
overhead crane, design and fabrication of three axis robotics arm, study the change in
microstructure and mechanical properties of heat treated steel and its alloys involving fatigue
testing of materials, design and fabrication of rotating unbalance system and analytical
calculation and simulation for the fatigue life of aluminium specimen. The best part of all these

projects is that my role in this was to entirely design and analyze these systems so I was a
significant and prominent member of the brain-storming process for these and every such
project which has helped to rather broaden my own visions of approach and critical reasoning
for every step I take.
Exploration of eco-friendly and more economical power resources are dire needs of the modern
world. Being a realist, I have always wanted to be part of the solution that will confront these
problems. The ongoing energy crisis in resource rich Pakistan has also tempted me pursue
career as a Petroleum Engineer. After graduation I want to research the ways by which Pakistan
can cater this energy crisis and satisfy the global environmental standards as well.
Australia offers international students an ideal environment for learning and growth. The
supremacy of law and human rights, are the driving principles of Australian society. Therefore,
an equitable status is enjoyed by every person on Australian soil. Moreover, Australia is
considered to be more economical for overseas education because of relatively low cost of living
and tuition fees, as compared with US or UK.
The education system of Australia is renowned around the globe for its effectiveness and
dynamic policies. Australian universities offer the best course outlines, and follow exceptional
ways (teaching and grading policies etc.) to impart knowledge. Australian universities are also
well known for their most efficient counselling conferences, to help students prosper in their
careers and social lives.
Curtin University which offers an exceptional curriculum to equip its students with theoretical
knowledge as well as practical expertise, by working closely with primary petroleum industries
as Chevron, Woodside and Shell. The fluid laboratory, geomechanics laboratory, drilling material
testing laboratory and core flooding laboratory will deliver me the necessary tools a petroleum
engineer must be used to. The multi-dimensional research going on at Curtin is another driving
factor, why I want to pursue my master studies at Curtin.
Once I have completed my masters in Petroleum Engineering, I will possess all the knowledge
and expertise to help me with my future endeavors in oil and gas exploration and production.
There are great Job opportunities within the traditional as well as the future oil industry. Possible
work places include government and private oil companies, consultancy firms and service
providers in Pakistan such as PSO, Caltex, Byco petroleum, Shell, Total and OGDCL. Middle East
serves as the major market for petroleum engineers. Companies such as Saudi aramco, RTE
group, Drago oil, PCT group, Gulf Incon ,petropars, Arabian drilling company and thousands of
other oil & gas companies have a lot of job opportunities for petroleum engineers. A completed
study will also form a good basis for a future career as a researcher.

Nasir Arslan
D.O.B: 05/12/1991