Motivation letter

Hi everyone! I intended to enroll in a german university for a master's degree. Since i'm from Ukraine and english is not my native language, I concerned about the quality of my motivation letter. I would be very glad if someone with appropriate experience check my writing.

I would be thankful for any comments!
Thanks!

Dear Sir or Madam

I'm applying to your international Master's programm with specialization in "European Master in Project Management" starting in October 2012. My current objectives are to obtain outstanding european experience in Managing projects and use it to facilitate a family company's prosperity.

I was born and studied in Donetsk, a relatively small city at the east of Ukraine. Due to the Soviet past and the iron curtain politics, which were implemented at that time, it was almost impossible to interact with other cultures. Since I always had an interest in the surrounding world and what lies beyond my small city, I was fond of geography and astronomy. I had a favorite book, which was a little encyclopedia with a variety of astronomical facts, great pictures of planets, stars, galaxies and other objects, which at that time seemed fantastic and magic. I was fascinated about how interesting, diverse and huge our world is.

I was lucky to grow up in the post-Soviet Union era because it provided people with opportunities to study languages, have access to diverse information, opened opportunities to start small business, and though still with a lot of difficulties, to occasionally travel to other countries and learn from other cultures and experiences. My father has an incredibly sharp mind and has always had an independent and entrepreneurial spirit. After Soviet system collapsed his vigorous nature prompted him to start looking for possibilities how to reveal itself, thus in the middle of 90th he engaged in trading computers. At that time he often traveled to different countries on business and occasionally we went with him. During those trips I learned to communicate with other cultures, gained life experience, trained my English language skills and expended my social outlook.

My father then established a small company he named “Smile Ltd.” that first consisted of only one person - himself, with the passion of bringing computerization and communication systems to Ukraine and to the city where we live. He is an exceptional computer scientist and programmer and he created very profound and sophisticated programs that help both small and large companies to improve communications. He was a role model for me and I decided to study economics at the Donetsk National University. While at the University I worked at my father's company helping him with testing and improving his program solutions. After graduation I took a permanent job at his company as director of business operations and became responsible for increasing the company’s growth. During the past few years I encountered a lot of challenges with different aspects of company activities, such as accounting system, legal aspects, customer service, technical support, developing technical documentation, participation in business forums and much more. Working to address these challenges allowed me to learn new things and interact with different people both within and outside of company’s business environment. Furthermore, I tried to read a lot about business operations, market research studies, market dynamics and marketing strategies. I came to realize that in order for me to help our company grow I need to expand my knowledge with the European experience of management, team collaboration, intercultural communication, negotiation skills, law and economic aspects of project management.

I had opportunity to visit Dortmund because my grandparents moved there several years ago. I fell in love with this city that combines some old architecture with modern life style, has many students and very welcoming inhabitants. Unfortunately, not long ago my grandfather passed away from cancer. The physicians did everything possible to extend his live and my whole family is very thankful for that. Though I looked at some other programs in different cities, I really like the curriculum of EuroMPM international program at the University of Applied Science and Arts in Dortmund. Dortmund is also a very special place for me to study because of the memory of my grandfather. It will give me opportunity to significantly expand my knowledge, meet new people and learn from them, and also spend time and support my grandmother.
I am very excited about this opportunity, because not only it will allow me to help our company grow, but also bring back to Donetsk knowledge that I can share with my colleagues in our company and outside and help other people to start and improve their businesses

Thank you for considering my application, and I look forward to your acceptance.

With best regards.