Kamya Choudhary
- Name
- Kamya Choudhary
- Title
- Organisation
- International Development School of Social and Political Science University of Edinburgh
- Telephone
- Research Interests
- Sustainable Development, Irrigation, Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods, Gender and Development, Protected Cultivation, International Development, Ethnography, Rajasthan, Solar Pump
- URL
- http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/community_and_representation/research_student_profiles/international_development/kamya_choudhary
PhD Title
Contemporary Agriculture and Sustainability: Navigating the Impact of Solar-Powered Irrigation Pumps in Rural India
Research Project:
My work seeks to analyse the socio-political structures that shape the current widescale shift to state-subsidized solar-powered irrigation pumping systems in India. Focusing on groundwater extraction in rural Rajasthan, I study debates surrounding water access and sustainability to demonstrate how policy designs impact interactions between technology, farmers and the environment.
Qualifications:
2016 - present: Ph.D. International Development, The University of Edinburgh
2015 - 2016: MSc International Development, The University of Edinburgh
Conference Papers and Presentations:
Choudhary, K. (2019). Pump It ft. Rajasthan: Exploring the Impacts and Sustainability of Solar Irrigation. Presented at 'Energy, Culture and Society in the Global South' conference, The University of Cambridge, UK. May 2019.
Wayland, C., Kowalewska, K. and Choudhary, K. (2019). Decolonising Research and Feminist Friendships: A Conversation Across Boundaries. Presented at 'Decolonising Feminist Knowledge' workshop, University of Edinburgh. May 2019.
Choudhary, K. (2018). ‘Being’ Brown: an intersectional account of identity and the post-graduate experience in the UK. Presented at the 'Teaching Feminisms, Transforming Lives' Project workshop, Ambedkar University Delhi, December 2017 and the University of Edinburgh. February 2018.
Choudhary, K. (2017). Sustainability of Solar Irrigation Pumps on the Farm: Challenges, and Concerns. Presented at the 8th SIID Postgraduate Research Conference: 'The Age of Sustainability: Opportunities, Critiques, Challenges', University of Sheffield. May 2017.
Choudhary, K. (2016). The Socio-Economic Impact of Solar Irrigation in India: Moving Beyond Diesel Offset. Presented in addition to an end-user perception report at Claro Energy. June 2016.
Related Academic Work:
2020: Feminist Struggles in the Academy in India and the UK. This comic publication is a collaborative effort with Cat Wayland, Dr Radhika Govinda, and artists Shazleen Khan and Samia Singh.
2020: Guest Lecturer, delivering ‘Gender, Environment and Development’, for the course ‘Gender and Development’. Postgraduate course, University of Edinburgh.
2019: Student Experience Grant co-awardee, organising an visual arts-based comic aimed at decolonising knowledge production on campus.
2019: Principal's Office Grant co-awardee, hosted artist Raquel Durán where she painted a mural based on the proceedings of the 'Decolonising Feminist Knowledge' workshop at the University of Edinburgh.
2019: Guest Lecturer, delivering ‘Gender, Environment and Development’, for the course ‘Gender and Development’. Postgraduate course, University of Edinburgh.
2017-2019: Project member of the Feminist Taleem: Teaching Feminisms, Transforming Lives, a North-South research and pedagogic collaboration led by Dr. Radhika Govinda, funded by the UK-India Educational Research Initiative. Contributor to an edited volume as part of the project, anticipated publication to be in 2019/20.
2016: Researcher with Claro Energy (New Delhi, India).
Academic Awards:
2016: Perfect Storm Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarship
2016: Best Overall Performance, MSc in International Development Award
2016: JN Tata Gift Scholarship for Academic Excellence 2015: Graduate School of Social and Political Science Funding Award
2015: JN Tata Endowment for the Higher Education of Indians Scholarship
Supervisors: