Personal Statement on Post Graduate Study - Emmanuel Chitanda BSc. Electrical Engineering (2003)
Ever since completing my undergraduate studies, I always considered myself as a practical engineer
whose intension was to impact the industrial engineering field and develop practical solutions
affecting mainly the developing countries in Africa, where I come from. I therefore had much dislike
in further amassing more theoretical knowledge and never thought of myself pursuing further
studies at post graduate or any other academic level. I always considered pursuing post graduate
studies as being very academic and only relevant to people who intended to become college lectures
or university professors. I was of the view that gaining such higher levels of academic education was
of not much relevance to the practical applications of engineering required in the real world of
industry and construction.
After more than 15 years in the industry I then started to feel like even though I had managed to
achieve quite a lot as a practising engineer in the industry, there was still something missing in my
professional standing. I felt that the title of being just an electrical engineer, or even senior engineer
for that matter, was somehow limiting my capabilities and intentions. I knew I could do more in the
broader engineering field rather than just limiting myself to a bachelor’s degree title in only one field
of the profession. By that time, my career had already started to take a much broader turn as I was
now managing my own engineering practise and having to deal with issues such as managing a
company and employees, as well as being involved in financial management issues as well as having
to conduct a lot of marketing pitches and presentations. Due to these concerns, it became quite
evident that I could no longer escape or postpone the need to pursue further studies. The issue then
now shifted to the category of post graduate study route that I wanted to take. I thought a post
graduate study in my field of electrical engineering was a bit too theoretical and without much
industrial application but the same time, I did not want to take up a post graduate study completely
different from my original field of study.
After conducting further research, I then came across the post graduate master’s program in
Construction Engineering Management offered by the University of East London and I felt that this
program was really close to what I intend to do and it also fits with the broader engineering
managerial role that I had begun operating as. Upon going through the programme’s course outline,
I was very excited to found out that the programme offers modules in subjects such as Mental
Wealth that focusses on technical management training, project programming and quality control
procedures within the industry. There is also a module in Business Procurement and Contractual
Practise that focuses on project contractual and tendering procedures as well as equipping the
scholar in critical skills such as analysis of project cost and financial risks associated with planning
and undertaking major construction projects.
I therefore strongly believe that this masters’ programme will enable me to become a more
proficient engineer and manager in the areas of construction project management, contractual
executions and providing me with more skills to produce and present more precise project proposals
and programs in a more robust and confident manner. The programme will also enhance my
academic profile and elevate my professional standing from a level of just being an engineer with a
bachelor’s degree to a higher level of post graduate engineer status with a broader knowledge of the
profession and thoroughly equipped with capacity and passion to further contribute to the
development of engineering solutions in the developing countries.