Hi AsterixDB Team, My name is *Murali Udutha*, and I am a Master's student in Computer Science at *Kiel University of Applied Sciences*, Germany. I am very interested in participating in GSoC 2026 with the Apache AsterixDB project.
I have a solid foundation in *Java and Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA)*. After reviewing the project ideas, I am particularly interested in the *"Backup/restore utility for AsterixDB" (ASTERIXDB-3697)* as it aligns well with my backend development skills and my goal of becoming an AI/ML Engineer. I have just submitted a request for a *Jira account* (Username: umurali) to begin participating in technical discussions and tracking my progress. I have already cloned the repository and am currently setting up my local development environment. I look forward to learning from the community and making my first contributions soon. Best regards, Murali Udutha
