KAPIL NARESH KATARIA

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE FOR M.S. IN ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

I was moved when I attended the inspirational ‘LETTER WRITTEN IN 2070’; a visionary
presentation demonstrating the future of our existence without availability of resources if not
taken care by us. It was a real eye opener in the first professional year of my career. It just
strengthened my urge to look forward and boost my decision of being an Entrepreneur in future.
Pursuing my bachelors in engineering I took this interest further by joining a reputed firm
Reliance Industries Limited as an IT associate and later with considerable learning I have joined
my family business. I am very proud that I have laid my path of career with my own choices and
now in future my aim is to attain my Masters in Engineering Management (MEM).

During my undergraduate study at Shah And Anchor Kutchhi Engineering College

(Mumbai), I have developed strong interest and liking for management aspects of engineering
when I came across subject like Industrial Economics and Management in the 3rd year of my
engineering course in electronics. On doing more research, I realized that engineering and
management together makes a good combination and has good potential for people who want to
be involved in the industry at both the technical and the managerial level. In my final year I
worked on project named ‘Biomedical Irrigation Pump’ in an organization called Panorama
Infocomm Pvt. Ltd. The objective of the project was to design and fabricate a working prototype
of a medical irrigation pump to be used for surgical procedures. At that time there were no
irrigation pump that would satisfy physicians needs. By manufacturing these pumps Byrne
Medical a client of Panorama Infocom would have been able to make an innovative product.
This idea was highly appreciated by my professors and company and my project was rated as
among top five projects of that year. After graduating I got placed in Reliance Industries Limited
one of the best industry in India. It was a dream come true and finally all the hard work paid off.

Later I worked as an IT Associate since December 2010 with Reliance Industries Limited, listed
on the National Stock Exchange, Bombay Stock Exchange of India and also among the top 500
fortune companies. My professional experience has helped me hone my leadership skills to a
great extent. Within a short span of time I was handed over responsibility of many key projects,
which were important for business development. Along with my team we managed, deployed
and configured ticket printing machine across all Reliance retail stores in and around Mumbai in
co-ordination with a reputed ticketing partner “bookmyshow.com” for Mumbai Indians, a very
popular cricket club owned by Reliance. I was involved in all crucial matters like technology
support, logistics and back end management. I was part of the team that showed a great deal of
persistence and commitment in handling critical retail operations such as troubleshooting of
dedicated servers and network connections of 1400 retail stores, monitoring data flow from SAP
via Tibco to Retalix.

After working for around 19 months I decided to move into our Agricultural based trading
business, which my father had, established in the mid 1980's. An innate liking towards business
and management was a natural outcome, courtesy - my father. He is a true businessman who
believes that education is a 'man-making' process. Seeing him carry out negotiations and
business deals influenced and fascinated me. Moving into the business gave me the freedom do
something on my own. Freedom is not lack of responsibility. Freedom to me is the ability to
explore and settle options the way I think is suitable and the ability to work within porous
boundaries. Freedom to me is an inner need for space in which one can create greater value
without interference. Working in my family business for the past 6 months starting June 2012
has given me an opportunity to explore many avenues and learn basic nuances of managing and
sustaining a business. During this stint I have been trying to imbibe critical skills of running a
business such a capital and credit management, procurement of Agro goods based on customer
requirement and specifications, Negotiations Skills and Logistics, each experience being useful
through these months.

Recreational activities and outdoor sports are something that has played an important role in my
life. I am intensely passionate about motorbikes; touring on my bike is the biggest stress buster.
When I am riding motorbike with the wind blowing onto my face, it gives me a sense of oneness
with nature and exemplifies freedom and freewill. I have also been part of a group of like-
minded bikers with whom I have toured for miles at a stretch through tough terrains and harsh
weathers. Sports and business have much in common I feel. Features like competitiveness,
dynamism, uncertainty, strategy, execution and above all leadership and teamwork are qualities,
which are necessary to thrive in both avenues. Over the past few years I have participated in
various sporting events like Cricket and Table Tennis. I have also managed to win a gold medal
in Table Tennis at the intra- college level. I believe playing sports tests and enhance many
abilities. In sports everyone aspires to win but there is only one winner. But if you combine your
ability with the right attitude and a passion to excel one can be a winner in many way. Playing
sports has definitely added to my self-confidence and made me a team player rather than just
focus on myself. Further travel is something that really excites me and I believe “To travel is to
live”.

During the MEM program at your university I would be able to network with a variety of people
through the various clubs and organizations in the campus. Interactions with like-minded
students and industry representatives would allow me to sharpen my business acumen and help
me plan my roadmap post achieving my short-term goal. An MEM course would sharpen my
existing skills and later with this I would like to work as a consultant for few years. In a time
span of 10 years post-graduation, I would like to see myself with an established business in terms
of technology and innovation. I hope to come out with a vision, which will have its own
definition of development. It will be community centric to which I belong. Large-scale disparity
and multifaceted social life of my country needs unique treatment for its unique challenges. My
expertise in Engineering Management will help me to bring innovation and improve the physical
as well as social well being of my people. I also have an added motive behind being an
entrepreneur I want to give back to society with an extra emphasis on sustainability for better
future of next generations.

I look upon myself as a candidate who has profound knowledge in electronics, Information
technology, Business, Finance and Strategy due to my previous experiences and education.
Along with it I posses soft skills like perseverance, self-confidence, leadership and team player.
This makes me a well-rounded personality and thus I am sure I would be able to benefit my
fellow classmates to grow and excel.