Past Interns

Amit Kumar is a Research Intern at the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS). He did his Master's from the Department of East Asian Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Delhi. He is passionate about the Political Economy of China and how it is shaping regional and international world order in parallel to the West. His other areas of interest include Internal political Dynamics of China and how its affecting policy making of China.

Aaquil Ahmed is a postgraduate student of Political Science and Economics. His academic interests lie at the intersection of political economy, climate change, and migration, with a particular focus on climate-induced mobility, governance frameworks, and inequality in South and East Asia. He has presented his research at national and international platforms, including the SAARC Secretariat, Kathmandu, and has published on themes related to political economy, technology, and regional cooperation. His work aims to bridge academic research with policy-relevant insights on migration and development.

Jiyaa Soni is a Research Intern at the Institute of Chinese Studies and a Master's student at O.P. Jindal Global University. Her research interests span Chinese foreign policy, South China Sea and maritime security, economic statecraft, and industrial policy. She is particularly interested in examining how economic instruments such as trade dependencies, industrial policy, and infrastructure investment shape and drive foreign policy decisions, and how states leverage economic power as a tool of geopolitical influence. Jiyaa is focused on understanding China's evolving role in reshaping regional order and its broader implications for India and the Indo-Pacific.

Udaya Roshan is a postgraduate researcher with an MSc in Global Development (Distinction) from SOAS, University of London, and a BA (Research) in International Relations from Shiv Nadar University. His work sits at the intersection of security, governance, and development, with a particular focus on how military strategy and institutional capacity shape regional and global power dynamics. His research engages with China’s strategic behaviour in the Indo-Pacific, alongside broader interests in international security, military strategy, and the security–development nexus. He is particularly interested in how classical strategic thought, including frameworks such as Sun Tzu’s Art of War, can inform the analysis of contemporary statecraft and military doctrine. He has developed experience in qualitative research, policy analysis, and structured academic writing through both his academic training and his work in a think tank environment, where he produced policy-relevant research on international security and global political economy. His work has engaged with a range of issues, including conflict dynamics, security sector reform, technology and governance, and humanitarian crises. His postgraduate dissertation examined the securitisation of international aid in Palestine, analysing how donor strategies and institutional practices are shaped by security logics and their implications for governance in conflict-affected contexts. At the same time, he remains keen to explore and engage with a wide range of interdisciplinary research areas.

Ms. Aarya R. P. Sardesai is a virtual research intern at the Institute of Chinese Studies. She is pursuing M.A. in International Relations & Peace Studies at the Nalanda University, Rajgir, Bihar. She completed her graduation from the University of Delhi. Prior to this, she has worked with India’s premier policy research think tank, NITI Aayog and National Human Rights Commission. Her most recent work titled, “From Himalayas to the Indian Ocean: Geography & India’s Global Outreach” reflected upon how India’s geography shapes its international engagements. As an aspiring international relations professional with a strong academic foundation in History and Political Science, she is experienced in research, diplomacy, and policy analysis. A published author, national essay awardee, and active organiser and moderator of high-profile academic and policy events, Aarya is a multilingual communicator with interests in diaspora diplomacy, foreign policy of China, India-China bilateral ties, and Indian Diaspora in PRC.

Ritwika Mandal is a Research Intern at the Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi and is currently pursuing the Integrated Programme in Management at IIM Indore. As a part of her programme, she has undertaken courses pertaining to diverse fields including World Politics, Micro and Macro Economics, Ethics, Statistics, Psychology and Contemporary Social Issues. Her research interests include cultural politics of censorship, queer theory in non-western contexts, and state-society relations in authoritarian systems. She has previously undertaken academic research projects where she has employed both qualitative and quantitative techniques for data collection and analysis including regression. Through her work at the Institute, she aims to contribute to the discussions regarding censorship, sexuality, and cultural governance in modern China and East Asia.

B Veda Vyshnavi is a research Intern at Institute of Chinese Studies. New Delhi and a student of the Integrated Programme in Management, IIM Indore. With a multidisciplinary academic background and courses in sociology, ethics, political theory, economics and statistics, her research interests lie in examining how policy design, institutional coordination, and market structures interact to influence industrial outcomes in China. Through her work at the Institute, she aims to better understand the broader effects of economic strategy and technological leadership in emerging economies.

Atman Deshpande is a Research Intern at the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), New Delhi, and is currently pursuing the Integrated Programme in Management (IPM) at IIM Indore. Bridging macroeconomic research with strong business acumen, his work focuses on translating complex structural data into actionable policy insights. His primary research investigates labor market transitions, utilizing data disaggregation to evaluate China’s youth unemployment crisis and its underlying credential-employment mismatch. By analyzing these localized economic shifts, Atman extracts comparative, strategic lessons for India’s evolving industrial and employment frameworks. Beyond his core research, he demonstrates strong project and stakeholder management by curating and coordinating the ICS Weekly Speaker Series and organizing specialized policy panels. Leveraging a background in competitive debate and TEDx curation, Atman excels at synthesizing global economic trends into high-impact narratives that drive meaningful public and organizational discourse.