How I won $10,000 Alan Mulally Scholarship

I am an engineering student from Anna University, Chennai, and the first recipient of the US $10,000 Alan Mulally Leadership in Engineering Scholarship.

I came to know about the scholarship through my college bulletin board. I discussed the opportunity with my professor and got a letter of recommendation. Next, I prepared a statement of purpose, expressing my love for computer science, design, cars and leadership. I was surprised to be selected.

The scholarship honours former Ford Motor Company CEO Alan Mulally’s expertise in science and engineering. It is a part of a global initiative from Ford. I’m looking forward to connect with the company’s corporate science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) strategic initiative.

A meeting with Wendy Hall (professor of computer science at the University of Southampton, England) during an ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) meeting in 2012, boosted my interest in computer science. Consequently, I took up an undergraduate course in computer science at the College of Engineering Guindy, Anna University.

I’m in my final year. I fell in love with cars during a car exhibition in my college. My final-year project is related to smart communication between vehicles to reduce accident risks and noise pollution. After graduating, I want to pursue research in computer science that will utilise my learning in databases and algorithms. Machine learning and artificial intelligence are other fields I’m interested in. I also want to mentor students from underrepresented populations.

Source: Hindustan Times, 26-11-2015