Aarushi Sinha
Aarushi Sinha is a driven and detail-oriented undergraduate student at Krea University, pursuing a BA Honours in Politics with a Minor in History. Her academic interests lie at the intersection of governance, development and policy, on data-driven insights and interdisciplinary approaches.
She participated in the Data and Policy Summer Scholar Program at the Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago, where she gained international exposure by collaborating on an international policy research project. During this project, she utilised R programming for data analysis, focusing on analyzing UN voting data on various global issues. She applied statistical techniques, including causal inference, to uncover the factors driving voting patterns and provided data-driven insights into global geopolitical dynamics. This experience significantly enhanced her skills in data analysis, visualisation and statistical reasoning.
Her work experience includes research internships and impactful volunteer initiatives. At The Prajnya Trust, she monitored and analysed misogynistic hate speech during elections under the guidance of Dr Swarna Rajagopalan. She also interned at the Institute for Sustainable Development and Governance (ISDG), where she conducted data analysis and evaluated policies to improve Kerala's waste management systems. Her work focused on identifying policy gaps, offering recommendations, and drafting a comprehensive report on waste management governance, giving her valuable experience in policy evaluation and sustainable development. Additionally, she volunteered with organisations like Deeksha Self-Help Group and Sanskar Gyaanpeeth Sikshan Samiti, working on community projects focused on nutrition, COVID-19 prevention, and social empowerment, which has equipped her with a further ground-level understanding of various public issues.
She's seeking opportunities in the areas of Policy Research, Advocacy, and Communications (within non-profits, think tanks, industry associations, public policy consulting firms, or in-house corporate teams) and Public Affairs where she can apply my analytical skills, research expertise and passion.
Internship(Duration)
Research Intern
October 2023 - June 2024
● Working directly under Professor Swarna Rajagopalan
● Monitored, documented and authored notes on misogynistic hate speech by politicians during elections
● Committed to daily online newspaper research and weekly team meetings
Institute for Sustainable Development and Governance
Summer Intern
1 June 2023 - 15 July 2023
● Conducted data analysis in Kerala's waste management sector to inform decision-making
● Evaluated policies and gaps for recommendations, focusing on community engagement
● Compiled a drafted written report on Kerala's waste management governance
Data and Policy Summer Scholar Program by Harris School of Public
Policy, The University of Chicago
June 2022 – August 2022
● Programming Skills: Proficient in R programming for data analysis, including retrieval, cleaning, visualisation and analysis
● Data Analytics: Applied statistical foundations and tools in public policy research
● Capstone Research Project: Collaborated on an international policy research project using R programming, working with Professor
Austin Wright and peers
Summer Intern- Part of Event Organizing Team for World Menstrual Hygiene Day
28 April – 31 May 2022]
● Member of the Event Organizing team to organise World Menstrual Health Day in Anganwadi Centre of Chingrajpara, Bilaspur
Chhattisgarh
● Worked with Government Officials of Chhattisgarh to plan and make arrangements for budget management, decorations, etc
● Prepared a written report explaining program success and future improvement suggestions
Social Volunteer Work at Deeksha Self-Help Group in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh (2019 - 2022)
● Taught & supported rural women of SHG with calculations, tabulation, and data management for maintaining registers
● Recorded essential details, including food grain quantities and measurements, used to prepare ""Ready to Eat Supplementary
Nutrition"" for addressing malnourishment in the region
Social Volunteer Work with Sanskar Gyaanpeeth Sikshan Samiti (NGO) in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh (Summer 2020)
● Partnered with Sanskar Gyanpeeth Sikshan Samiti (NGO) for Covid-19 support in urban slums
● Conducted educational sessions on infection prevention measures
● Distributed masks, soaps, and sanitizers in rural and urban slum areas to aid Covid-19 prevention efforts
Projects & Work
Program
The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy
● Analysed UN voting data to identify global voting patterns on key issues (arms control, human rights, etc.) using R
● Merged, cleaned, and analysed datasets, and produced visualisations to highlight voting trends
● Applied pairwise correlations to examine country alliances, focusing on country’s voting behaviour
● Utilised statistical techniques from Data Analytics and R Programming modules to perform causal inference and data-driven insights
Research Proposal- Urbanization of Marginalized Communities: A Study of the Impact of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in Chhattisgarh
● Analysed the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana's impact in Chhattisgarh
● Suggested to employ mixed research methods for insights into housing and social conditions
● Identified expected outcomes: Policy recommendations, interdisciplinary understanding, and social impact insights
Personal Project- Design Thinking for Social Issue Resolution
● Addressed malnourishment in Gram Sarkanda Rural Slum, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh
● Conducted on-site surveys and interviews, revealing a lack of awareness of government policies
● Devised innovative solutions for widespread awareness dissemination and presented it in a creative video