Personal statement

I have always been fascinated by computers. Ever since my fingers touched the keyboard keys, I knew that my future life would lie in computers. For the last nine years I have worked hard and tried to gain knowledge that would go beyond that of the average user. As I discovered more and more applications of this astonishing technology, I found that there is one field that is still not widely known – artificial intelligence. The thousands of new implementation that would arise from a brain made out of silicon and wires makes me want to devote all my strength to studying and further exploring the subject.

Using computers just for work or fun was not enough for me; I felt the need to understand how all the programs that looked simple at first sight actually work. I started delving into that area when I was thirteen. The IT technician at my mother’s work introduced me to programming, and it was then that I began realizing the enormous potential of computers. Day after day my ambition to become a professional programmer grew stronger. However, a few years later, when I was around sixteen, I understood that the simple writing of programs was not as difficult as it seem. I wanted something more complicated.

Last summer I worked for a school designing their online catalogue. It was a difficult task, bearing in mind all the requirements that the school directors had. It was also a learning experience for me. I learnt a lot of new techniques in programming and algorithm design; apart from that, I discovered some abilities that I never thought I had before. I understood that when I have a deadline, I will do everything that I possibly can to meet it. Procrastination is something that I despise. It is important to do everything right on time, or even a little bit before that, because otherwise others will not have trust in me and my work.

At school the Informatics teacher once asked me to teach someone some basic programming skills, because she had to take an exam. It was a great responsibility, but a great honour as well. I did my best to teach that person in such a way that she would understand everything that I said. Later, during the actual exam, she received an A. This made me realise that great responsibility goes with great pride, because this was exactly the way I felt when I heard the good news – proud of the effort that I had put in earlier.

Designing the complicated algorithms for the school catalogue, thinking of a strategy to introduce a complete novice into the complex world of programming convinced me that simple “code-writing” is not for me. I want to think of what programmers should write. The idea that it might be possible to create a machine that would think all this on its own fascinates me. It is exactly what Artificial Intelligence in its essence is: a computer that understands its surrounding and takes decisions on its own conditions, not through human instructions.

My lifelong passion for computers and their way of working, and the “need” to design complex systems make me choose Artificial Intelligence as my field of further development. I chose to apply to the UK, because of what it offers in terms of AI research and programmes.