<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><strong><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Statement of Purpose, NICMAR</span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">With a deep-rooted commitment to shaping sustainable, efficient, and inclusive urban futures, I, Purnima Kumari Chowdhury, am excited to apply to the Department of Urban Planning at NICMAR. My academic training&mdash;B. Arch. from NIT Patna, M. Plan from SPA Bhopal, and PhD in Urban Planning (specialization in Transport and Mobilities) from IIT Kharagpur in June 2025&mdash;have equipped me with a comprehensive understanding of spatial systems, urban form, and mobility challenges. I now seek to build on this foundation through NICMAR&rsquo;s unique emphasis on planning implementation, infrastructure systems, and practice-oriented education.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">My academic journey has consistently been aligned with understanding the complexity of urban environments. At SPA Bhopal, where I also served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Transport Planning (1. April 2024 to 12 Dec 2025), I had the opportunity to engage in both teaching and applied research. During this time, I was also involved in several urban planning consultancy projects that provided critical exposure to the policy, regulatory, and technical dimensions of urban planning in Indian cities. These projects not only grounded my academic interests in real-world challenges but also deepened my appreciation for the need for cross-disciplinary thinking and institutional collaboration in planning practice.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">My doctoral research at IIT Kharagpur focused on behavioural aspects related to automobility in the global south and how human decisions are captured through their daily life experiences. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">This study moves beyond conventional approaches to studying car use in the Global South, which often adopt analytical frameworks developed in Global North contexts. In doing so, such models tend to overlook the embedded social customs and culturally specific practices&mdash;like driver employment&mdash;that critically shape mobility behaviour. Crucially, this work also lays the foundation for future behavioural research on how such households might adapt&mdash;or resist&mdash;the </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">transition to driverless technologies, where the meaning of being chauffeured is deeply social and not merely functional. This work sharpened my understanding of not only current mobility behaviour but also what the future fate of mobility may look like for India.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">I am drawn to NICMAR&rsquo;s Department of Urban Planning because of its comprehensive approach to planning education, which is grounded in both foundational principles and contemporary realities. The program&rsquo;s emphasis on the multidimensional and multifaceted nature of planning, which is an </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">interface of planning, execution, and governance,</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> resonates strongly with my academic and professional journey.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">As a young, academically trained educator, joining NICMAR would offer me a unique opportunity to further expand my pedagogical practices, collaborate across disciplines, and contribute to the evolution of planning education that is closely tied to theoretical and industry requirements. I believe this is precisely the kind of platform that can enable me academically trained, but equally committed to practice and continue growing as a researcher and educator</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">This opportunity means a great deal to me, as it aligns not just with my career path but with the values and purpose that have shaped my journey so far. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Thank you for considering my application.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><strong><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Purnima Kumari Chowdhury</span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><strong><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">PhD IIT Kharagpur</span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><strong><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Former Assistant Professor, <br /></span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Department of Transport Planning, SPA Bhopal,</span></strong></p>