EVENTS

In collaboration with the Harvard Yenching Institute (HYI), the ICS inaugurated the Institute of Chinese Studies-Harvard Yenching Institute (ICS-HYI) Joint Scholarship for Doctoral Research in January 2014. Two scholarships for a period of five years each, are awarded to selected candidates, enrolled in the doctoral Programme in Indian universities. In the first year the selected candidate would strengthen Chinese language capabilities in India and thereafter spend one year in a Chinese university and the third year at the HYI in the United States. The recipients of the scholarship work across disciplines and are based in different universities in India. In the panel discussion, the panelists will share their journey as recipients of the prestigious fellowship and how it has helped them on their evolution and development as scholars/academics/researchers.

About the Speakers

Veda Vaidyanathan is a multi-disciplinary researcher who specializes in Asia - Africa interactions, currently based in New York City. As an Associate at the Harvard University Asia Center and also a Visiting Associate Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies in New Delhi, she brings a comparative perspective to her work, often examining Chinese and Indian engagements in the continent. Her expertise lies in managing research projects, curating multi-cultural teams and conducting extensive fieldwork across geographies. Research projects she has designed and led have examined investments in financial services and mining in Zimbabwe, agriculture in Zambia, infrastructure development in Tanzania and Kenya and pharmaceutical manufacturing in Ethiopia. Her analysis and Op-Ed's have been published in The Washington Post, The Hindu, The Diplomat, South African Journal of International Affairs and findings presented in various global conferences and podcasts, including as part of the Indian delegation to the 17th Russia-India-China (RIC) academic trilateral in Beijing. More information is available on her website https://vedavaidyanathan.com.

Madhurendra Jha is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Chinese Studies, Doon University, India. He is pursuing his Ph.D. from CCSEAS, Jawaharlal Nehru University on the works of the Chinese film director Jia Zhangke. He has also been involved with the India-China Translation Program and the SCO translation project, under which he has published Wang Shuo’s 看上去很美 (Looks Beautiful) in Hindi as Dikhne Mein Khoobsurat and Rajinder Singh Bedi’s Ek Chadar Maili Si (Ordained by Fate) in Chinese as 天 意注定. His third book, the Hindi translation of Wang Meng’s 青春万岁 (Long Live Youth) is under publication.

Tiasangla Longkumer is currently a doctoral student at Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University and a China-India Visiting Fellow at Ashoka University. She was also a HYI-ICS Fellow before she joined Ashoka. Her research interests span across public health, medical humanities, social medicine and history of science.

Shanky Chandra is a PhD scholar from Centre for Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. His research interests include modern and contemporary Chinese Science Fiction. The title of his PhD thesis is “Socio-Political and Cultural Factors in the Making of Chinese Science Fiction Writer Liu Cixin: Understanding The Three-Body Problem”. Chandra took his B.A. (2011) and M.A. (2013) in Chinese language and literature, and M.Phil. (2016) in Comparative Literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University at New Delhi, India. In 2013, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has awarded the Chinese Government Scholarship to Shanky Chandra for Post Graduate Diploma at Beijing Language & Culture University, (Higher level 1 & 2) 2013-2014. Chandra taught Chinese language and literature at St. Stephen’s College (2014-2019), Delhi University. He is also a member of the International Forum of Chinese Language Teachers (国际汉语教师微信群) and its official Account e-journal (国际汉语教师500强公众号).

About the Chair

Alka Acharya is a professor of Centre for East Asian Studies (Chinese Studies) School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). She was the Director and Senior Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies. She was Editor of the quarterly journal China Report (New Delhi) from 2005-2013. She was nominated by the Indian government as a member of the India-China Eminent Persons Group (2006-2008) and member of the National Security Advisory Board of the Government of India for two terms (2006-2008) and (2011-2012). She has authored a book China & India: Politics of Incremental Engagement, published in 2008. Her current research focuses on India-ChinaRussia Trilateral Cooperation and the Chinese strategic response to the postcold war regional architecture, with special reference to China’s neighborhood. She has been teaching courses on Chinese Foreign Policy and Political Economy to the Masters and M.Phil students and guiding doctoral research since 1993. Twelve scholars have so far been awarded a doctoral degree under her supervision. She is the joint editor of the book Crossing A Bridge of Dreams: 50 years of India-China, published in 2002, has contributed chapters to many books and regularly features in the Economic and Political Weekly.

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