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SOP Koustav Purdue
SOP Koustav Purdue
Statement of Purpose
Koustav Mallick
Problem-solving is an area that has always held my genuine interest. I have always tried
to have an analytical approach to real-world problems like inversion of control and
supervision with the help of AI, along with implementing futuristic ideas like JARVIS.
Enhancing products by building more robust, scalable solutions using code has been a
principal reason for my application to graduate school.
I was formally introduced to the underlying complexity of problem-solving during my
undergraduate studies in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering at Jadavpur
University. I enjoyed the data structures and algorithms classes and as a staunch
believer of 'practice makes better', I would go on to indulge in personal projects to gain
more hands-on experience on theories taught in class. My undergraduate days also
gave me the opportunity to work with several professors, most notably on a project
where I worked on Image Forgery Detection Model Development, using Random Forest
Regression as training algorithm and PySpark as data handler, modeller and processor.
The more I collaborated with my peers and professors, the more insight I gained into the
vast worlds of Image Processing, Robotics, Web Scrapping and Natural Language
Processing as well.
While I joined Deutsche Bank as a Senior Software Developer and made my way to
Associate Engineer, the fast-paced industry experience helped me build on my
undergraduate learnings while being exposed to problems like scalability, security and
flexibility issues with designing pipelines and frameworks that can adapt to time-
sensitive and context-embedded solutions. Deep affair in ETL Framework creation
helped me to build up my knowledge about RDBMS, DAGs, Data-Streams, Composer
and Networking. I developed multiple scalable frameworks like automated report
generation from trade and position data from world-wide clients, designing decision-
making frameworks using matrix based algorithms which saved my employer's financial
expenditure in millions. Industry problems are often blurry and taught me how to seek
out an exact requirement before delving into and extracting an efficient solution from a
sea of endless possible ones. As I was guided by my colleagues there, I helped some
interns and guided them into developing production level frameworks, which allowed
me to simplify my learnings and present them to newer audience.
As I felt my learning curve plateau against my thirst for knowledge, I was drawn to
graduate school as an opportunity to explore deeper and diverse understanding of the
subject. I feel that graduate study in CS helps in developing more rational depth in
analytical reasoning of real-world problems. A better grasp of specific areas of my
interest and broader knowledge of the whole of Computer Science are perfectly
essential to get me into my dream career of developing more advanced but realistic
solutions to problems like how to make machines feel like human do, and make them
more complete.
I have also had various interests outside academia that I believe have moulded me into
a collaborative team-centric person. I have been an athlete on the field. I participated in
swimming in my school at inter district, inter state levels. I have played soccer for my
department and won The College Title (Arena Champions) two times. In my
organization, I led my soccer team to winning the Deutsche Bank Gold Cups. I also took
part in a Table-Tennis tournament at organization level.
At Purdue University Computer Science, I found a graduate program solely consecrate
to exploring more knowledge at depth, with solid infrastructure, excellent research
facilities and a committed research environment. The esteemed faculty and stellar peer
group at Purdue University will definitely provide the environment I seek for my growth.
Purdue University offers a holistic program with special emphasis on individual
guidance and open thinking that sets it apart. I was especially intrigued by the works of
Prof. Aniket Bera. His work with Project Dost has really intrigued me, especially on the
part where the AI is able to do Emotion Modelling via gestures.
I would like to be a part of your distinguished program and assure you of my best
contribution towards Purdue University.