MY IELTS APPLICATION
Statement of Purpose
Jose Rafael Mauricio
Introduction
My name is Jose Rafael Mauricio, but most people know me as Maui, as many in my field
tend to stick to nicknames even in the most formal of settings. I am and have been a
professional video editor and filmmaker for the past 16 years, and as such a tremendous
bulk of my work experience is one of specialization in advertising and film narrative.
My undergraduate core, however, is Communication. I began my college life fascinated
with the ways, ideas, and information spread among people, and saw this fascination
develop into a passion for the many theoretical frameworks one could use to study
communication. My college thesis is proof of this: It's a case study of how a certain local
celebrity's faux-love-team pairings over the years have formed and have been formed by
the local zeitgeist. It may have been a schlocky concept at the outset, but for me it
revealed a whole lot about how Filipinos interact with pop culture.
It was this mindset that I brought into the professional worlds of Advertising and Film,
guiding everything from the smallest editorial choices to the very jobs that I chose to
accept. And, after 16 years, I've come to realize that I need to go back to studying again.
What triggered my realization is a contentious topic today: Artificial Intelligence. It is a
field that is fast dominating many industries to the point that I think that the way we
work will be completely unrecognizable to us in just a few years. Images and text can
now be conjured up with just a few prompts. Music can be automatically generated on
your browser. Huge amounts of data can now be analyzed and interpreted without human
intervention. While the prospect of "the machines taking over our jobs" can be terrifying,
I'm personally more optimistic, seeing a future where we have successfully learned to
synthesize artificial and human intelligence to create at a greater pace.
From a broader view, I wish to delve deeper into a study of Communication because of my
country’s socio-political situation. Disinformation has become so weaponized by
politicians, as was evident in our recent presidential election. Through a long, elaborate
and well-crafted communication campaign, the victor was able to distract voters from his
family’s dismal record of corruption and human rights atrocities, and reinstate themselves
in power. With the advent of artificial intelligence, I think deep-fakes and even more
deviously intelligent social algorithms will become part of the disinformation arsenal, and
I wish to be equipped with the know-how to counteract it. Communication is at the heart
of the issue, and I want to learn to become an expert communicator in the digital
environment to help combat disinformation when I return to the Philippines.
Current Employment
I am currently employed in Playground Inc., a Video Post-Production company that provides video editing services to other businesses. I have been with the company since its founding in 2018 and I am its current president, and my tenure will end on June 2023. After which I will remain as a consultant and video editor. Our office is located at 2303 Chino Roces Ave, Makati, Metro Manila and the person who can be contacted to confirm my status at the office is _________ at __________.
Family
I have a small family consisting of me, my wife, and our 7-year-old daughter. They will be coming and living with me during my entire stay in Adelaide. We have already agreed that my wife will continue working as a freelance editor for Playground Inc., as she is also currently one of the managing partners. We are both also open to working part time in Adelaide in the same capacity, as our credentials, educational backgrounds and work experiences are similar. My wife graduated from the University of the Philippines and subsequently entered the same industry and worked for television networks such as ABS-CBN and Solar Corporation before co-founding Playground Inc. Our daughter will be studying in a school in or near West Croydon preferably, and my sister-in-law will be helping us enroll her.
Financing and Sponsorship
My wife and I have saved up enough to finance our stay in Adelaide for two years. My current bank account reflects a part of that savings while an additional amount will be coming from Playground Inc. in the next few months as back pay and deferred commissions. In addition, my mother who is co-owner of Cordero Pawnshop has to agreed to loan us additional funding if need be (please see attached bank statement).
Why Masters in Communication
So why not study programming? Why didn’t I choose a course that focuses on the
development of artificial intelligence itself? Simply put, I’m not here to make the tools
but use them, in the same way that a doctor goes to medical school to learn the skills to
use the scalpel and not the methods by which the scalpel is made. I want to learn and
develop the skills and principles needed to wield artificial intelligence and other new
technologies to engender positive change.
I myself am an avid user of various AI apps at present. In my current line of work, I use
software to enhance the quality of otherwise inferior footage. I’ve been tinkering with
Midjourney in the past few months, creating hundreds of images merely from a few lines
of text. I can create volumes of new work with the assistance of AI, and already I can see
the potential for both an explosion of creative expression and abuse. The key to
combating the latter, I believe, is an encompassing understanding of communication in
the digital age — what principles are at work and how newfangled tech plays into the
dynamic.
This is why I want to take up Masters in Communication in the University of South
Australia: I believe that a theoretical approach coupled with close collaboration with
industry leaders is the best way to reassess and expand on our roles as users of artificial
intelligence and technology in general. Most of the roadblocks that hinder the better
integration of machine learning into industries, after all, is a current lack of broader
understanding about the emerging field and access to information about how AI can
expand the capabilities of individuals as well as corporate entities.
I also highly appreciate the holistic scope of the course itself, covering everything from
ethics (which was a cornerstone of my undergrad studies) to fundamental skills to
contemporary practices. As a freelancer for most of my career, I dabbled in many
different roles, and I am of the strong opinion that tackling the ongoing revolution
requires a flexible, multidisciplinary mindset that I know the University of South Australia
can provide.
Adelaide
It didn't take me very long to choose the University of South Australia either: It is situated
in the middle of Adelaide, a city on many "Best Places to Live In" lists I've read online. It's
affordable for me, made more so by the fact that I have family living near the University
(accommodation is definitely not a concern) . I'm also a cycling enthusiast, so the city's
focus on being a bike-friendly metropolis is a definite plus. Personally, I'm looking forward
to all the food tours I've been hearing about. I'm definitely going to be spending a lot of
time exploring the city in my free periods!
As for living accommodations, my wife’s sister and her family has agreed to lodge us for the duration of my studies at their home in West Croydon, a short bike ride away from the university.
Why University of South Australia
As for the University itself, it was an easy choice. All the online materials about student
life strongly portrays a progressive, inclusive environment, one which aligns with my own
core values. As I've mentioned above, the strong industry collaboration-centered
approach of the program is attractive to me, as well as the opportunity to grow
professional networks as well as contribute to advancements in the field of
Communication. I am personally looking forward to the Match Studio Projects course
during the second year, a university guided client-servicing program where I can apply
everything I've learned up to that point — practical application is my ultimate objective
after all.
This is also why I’ve chosen to study abroad. I work in the advertising and film industries
and, as such, I’m aware of the current practices of professionals in both fields.
I have looked into courses offered in other institutions such as the University of Adelaide, but I found that while they do offer courses related to artificial intelligence and the IT industry, their focus seems to be more on the technical aspects of the fields rather than one of communications.
I’ve also looked into the local Masters in Communication courses in the various universities in the
Philippines and, so far, none meet the criteria that I’ve mentioned above. My Alma Mater,
the Ateneo De Manila University, does have a MA Comm course, but its focus is more on
the academe and research. The same is true of most of the other top universities in the
Philippines. There also seems to be a lack of industry collaboration initiatives in the local
academe. In short, I believe that I need to take myself outside of my current environment
to be able to help improve that environment.
After Graduating
I have read the Australian student visa conditions and understand the rules and conditions laid out for applicants such as myself. I must complete my program in a timely manner, pay my tuition fees and other requirements on time, as well as maintain a good academic standing during my tenure in the University. An Australian student visa is a privilege granted by the government, and as such I must keep the appropriate authorities (such as the Department of Foreign affairs) on possible changes such as program, education provider, or address. I am allowed to work part time during my stay, and am required to get a health insurance plan for myself and my family. A third of my program can be taken remotely, and as with changes in my program I am also required write the University if I am to withdraw from the program for whatever reason.
After Graduating
After making the most of my stay at the University of South Australia I intend to return to
the Philippines to bridge the gap between the industries I've left behind and machine
learning. I part-own a post-production company, which is in turn partly owned by a
creative media agency. With what I've learned in UniSA, I hope to lead both companies to
the forefront by introducing novel technologies and techniques that make full use of
machine learning. Our country is very competitive when it comes to regional advertising
campaigns and global film competitions, and I fully believe that new strategies involving
machine learning will give us the advantage.
More importantly, however, I hope that I bring home a better sense of what can be done
ethically to ensure that those technologies and techniques be used as tools for positive
change, especially in a society that sorely needs a nudge in the right direction.
Jose Rafael Mauricio
August 18, 2022
