Each semester, the Mittal Institute offers grants to Harvard students to further their research, language study, or internship opportunities. For winter 2024-25, 14 students received funding to pursue projects across five countries. Their work spans a wide range of topics, from rethinking urban waste infrastructure in Mumbai, to studying opium economies across empires, to developing AI solutions for disaster response.
Below is an overview of the recipients — stay tuned for updates as they carry out their work.
Winter 2024-25 Grant Winners
Research Grants
Mahia Bashir
PhD candidate in History, Harvard GSAS, 2028
Imperial Incarceration (India)
Kaylin Chong
PhD candidate, Harvard GSAS, 2028
Mountains and Mouthparts: A case study in Ticks of Nepal and Their Feeding (United States)
Shivangi Chopra
Master in Public Administration candidate, Harvard Kennedy School, 2025
PinkEd: Design & Deployment of a Breast Cancer Awareness Curriculum for School-Going Adolescent Girls (India)
Hagar Gal
PhD candidate in History, Harvard GSAS, 2028
The Long Arm of Malwa Opium: Transformations of economic lives in Qing and British imperial frontier (India)
Madhavi Jha
PhD candidate in Economics, Harvard GSAS, 2028
Addressing Gender Disparities in the Diagnosis of NCDs in Rural India (India)
Anishta Khan
Master in Urban Planning candidate, Harvard GSD, 2025
Dhaka Nexus: Preparation for a Regional Plan (Bangladesh)
Naomi Nishit Mehta
Master of Architecture in Urban Design candidate, Harvard GSD, 2025
Rethinking the Critical Infrastructures of Waste, Sanitation, and the Urban Commons in Mumbai (India)
Khushi Nansi
PhD candidate in History of Art and Architecture, Harvard GSAS, 2030
QARZ: Women and Jewellery in Bombay/Mumbai (India)
Saswato Ray
Social Studies, Secondary in Economics, Harvard College, 2025
Christian Schools in Kolkata as the paradigm of what it means to be a ‘good’ school (India)
Hana Rehman
Joint Concentration in History & Science and Government, Harvard College, 2025
From Canals to Conflict: The Roots of Water Inequality in Pakistan (England)
Muhammad Mughees Sanaullah
Master in Public Administration candidate, Harvard Kennedy School, 2025
Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Disaster Management and Response in Pakistan (Pakistan)
Allen Wang
Master in Design Studies candidate, Harvard GSD, 2025
A Climate-Resilient Future for the Trekking Industry in Nepal’s Everest Region (Nepal)
Internship Grants
Mehrin Faisal
Human Developmental & Regenerative Biology, Secondary in Global Health & Health Policy, Harvard College, 2025
Internship at Society for Urban and Rural Advancement (SURA) (Bangladesh)
Omer Yousuf
Master in Urban Planning candidate, Harvard GSD, 2026
Internship at Hyderabad Urban Labs (India)