Yashraj Sharma

I'm a student.|

Hey, welcome to a collection of things I've done and research I've conducted.

I enjoy research, writing, and debate - and I'm deeply interested in public policy, political science, and economics. I founded a student research journal and work on educational policy research. I'm deeply interested in the harnessing code to provide insights into Business/Economics, Social, and Political issues.

You can reach out to me anytime to learn more!

Grab my resume here.

Education

Incoming Freshman at University of California, Los Angeles

  • Intended Major: Economics and Political Science



The Shri Ram School, Aravali

  • ICSE Grade X Examinations - 95.2%
  • ISC Grade XII Predicteds - 96.6%
  • Head of Debate Society
  • Vice Captain in the Student Council
  • Secretary-General of Model UN society

Research and Work Experience

Research Project, Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Educational Policy Research


• Working under the guidance of Dr. Christine Mulhern and Dr. Aroop Mukharji at the Belfer Center at Harvard Kennedy School, on an ongoing research project which analyses the recent downward trend in Chinese Student Enrolment in Higher Educational Institutions in the United States.

• Determined and charted out the exact recent trends in Chinese Student Enrolment since 2018 in US Universities and Colleges. Used Regression, Correlation, and other Statistical Models for the same.

• Uncovered the exact causes and behaviors behind Chinese Student Enrolment Trends and used Correlation and other statistical analysis to determine the exact causes which impact Chinese student enrolment

• Applied current news, data, state of affairs, to determine what factors within the status-quo have led to a recent downfall in Chinese Student Enrolment in the United States. Used literature, Bureau of Labor Statistics Data, and other forms of reports of the US Government to do the same (White House).

Intern, Offices of Dr. Narendra Jadhav (M.P in the Indian Parliament


• Worked directly under Dr. Narendra Jadhav - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narendra_Jadhav - a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha and Economist/Public-Policy Specialist. He was also a nominee for the position of President of India.

• Conducted historical and in-depth research on Mahatma Gandhi and his work on the Indian Independence Movement. Analyzed and traced his development as a Political Figure and influence in South Africa.

Based on my research, I authored 3 chapters on Gandhi and his development as a figure for Dr. Jadhav's upcoming book on Babasaheb Ambedkar.

Edited past publications by Dr. Jadhav on Ambedkar besides summarizing and condensing chapters and speeches.

Conducted research on the importance of the economic ideology of Ambedkar during the Constituent Assembly debates for the inclusion of marginalized communities and their education.

Research Intern, Center for Civil Society (CCS)



• Worked as a Research Intern under Bhuvana Anand, Director of Research. CCS is a top think-tank in India and the 71st best think tank in the world which was established by Dr.Parth Shah – an Ex-Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan.

• Conducted extensive research on the role and intersection of religion with the Educational System in India, and authored a paper, under the guidance of Bhuvana Anand, titled: "Minority Educational Institutions in India - an Analysis." which was published in the 1st Volume of 2020 of the International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research. The paper reviews various legal statutes and doctrines relating to these schools and interpreted various Judicial Pronouncements in order to critically analyzed the NCMEI Act of 2004. It discussed problematic areas of the Act, such as its composition, and made certain Policy Recommendations.

Analysed data from the NBER, ASER, and other educational data centers and research into judicial decisions and laws regarding minority bodies.

• Additionally, I created a software solution on the basis of Python, Excel, SMTP, and HTML, which used programming and scheduling algorithms to draft automated emails for the weekly mailers/up-to-date information sent to all employees.

Research Paper, Efficacy of Education in the Prevention of Violent Extremism

• Worked under the aid of Ali Khan Mahmudabad, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Ashoka University.

• Conducted research on the use of Education as a form of policy intervention in the Middle East and North Africa Region in the Prevention of Violent Extremism Process.

• Used quantitative data from the UN, World Bank, and Central Governments and used Regression, Correlation, and other Statistical Models, as well as a comprehensive review of literature to determine the link between Islamic Fundamentalism and Education.

• Substantiated the notion that, contrary to popular belief, the link between Education and an individual’s propensity to commit radically violent acts is weak, indirect, and not largely sustainable

• Invited to the 4th London International Conference on Social Science and Humanities 2020 to present my research and work

Research Intern, Central Square Foundation (CSF)


• CSF is a Policy Research Organization established by Ashish Dhawan, the Founder of Ashoka University, as a policy think tank dealing with grassroots level issues in the educational system in India.

• Worked under Apoorva Bhandari and the Governance Team on a report on private school governance in India, which aimed at mitigating issues and misconceptions regarding private schooling and discussed recommendations to better the state of governmental intervention and involvement in private bodies.

• Conducted data collection and other research tasks for team members working on the report and conducted fact-checking tests using Excel, Sheets, Python, and other such tools.

Intern, FSSAI – Ministry of Health, Government of India


• Worked under Namrata Khanna on the ‘Safe and Nutritious Food @ Schools’ Project undertaken by the FSSAI.

• Researched into models and effective mechanisms to revamp the scheme for implementation in private schools as well as schools in urban and rural cities.

• Authored reports and recommendations to bring about changes to the system,

• Worked on revamping the social media handles of the SNF@Schools program.

Publications

Minority Educational Institutions in India: An Analysis

Y. Sharma(2020) | International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research (ISSN: 2455-8834) | Volume 05, Issue 01 | DOI: 10.46609/IJSSER.2020.v05i01.002 | January 2020. ​

  • Research was conducted under the aegis of Bhuvana Anand, the Director of Research at the Center for Civil Society.
  • The paper was written as an outcome of my work with the Center for Civil Societies and discusses the foundation, organization, and administration of Religious Minority Schools in India. It reviews various legal statutes and doctrines relating to these schools and interprets various Judicial Pronouncements in order to critically analyze the NCMEI Act of 2004. It discusses problematic areas of the Act, such as its composition, and makes certain Policy Recommendations.

    • YRLC Journal

    The YRLC Journal is an international digital research journal where students can publish articles and pieces about public policy, governance, and politics with the sole aim of making policy recommendations and improving the quality of governance and polity of India and the world.



  • Member of the UN Major Group for Children and the Youth (UNMGCY).
  • Received 40+ submissions from students across the world - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Spain, Australia, Venezuela, US – studying in institutions such as UC Berkeley, National University of Juridical Sciences, Delhi University, Macquaire University, University of San Francisco, Ashoka University, Cambridge University.
  • Team strength - 9 students pan India and the US, with designers, social-media marketers, operational heads and editors.
  • Formed a senior Advisory Board of 6 Professors all over India and the US, as well as top-level researchers, including: Shantanu Gupta (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shantanu_Gupta), Dr. Ernest R. Rugenstein (Union College, New York), Dr. Mahendra Gaur (FPRC Journal, New Delhi), Gayathri Iyer (Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi), Shantanu Roy-Chaudhary (Oxford/Albright-Stonebridge), Aayush Mohanty (Vivekanand International Foundation, New Delhi).
  • Formed an Editorial Board consisting of 3+ top-level researchers (Ex-Editor of the Indian Journal of Law and Society and the Permanent Member of the Indian Civil Liberties Union) who work to refine papers and develop research skills.
  • Held 2 workshops with researchers from think-tanks (Vivekanand International Foundation) and Alumni of Cambridge University on International Relations and Policy Research 350+ registrations with 200+ attendees.
  • Assisted and mentored by Onyeka Obiocha – Director of Dwight-Hall at Yale University and the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale – on scaling up student organizations, forming teams and acquiring star-ups, building an international network.

    • Leadership

    Debate and Model UN

    Secretary-General of Aravali Model UN 2020

    • Led a team of 30 students and EB members to organise the largest student-run school event.
    • Managed the affairs of the conference as the singular point of contact between delegates, EB, and teachers.
    • Trained 250+ students in the fundamentals of Model UN and debating.
    • Trained and sent delegations to national and international level Model UN conferences.

    Head of Debate Society - TSRS Aravali 2020-21

    • Selected and trained teams for national level debating competitions, and lead teams at the same.
    • Conducted workshops on the fundamentals of debating, argumentation, point-making, and case-building for students of grades 6-12 comprising of 40-50 students.

    Secretary of Debate Society - TSRS Aravali 2019-20

    • Presided over the sessions of the society and worked to inculcate debating and argumentation skills amongst our teams and send teams to various debates.
    • Hosted workshops during Society Stay-backs to teach various techniques to excel at competitive debates and organize mock-debates.

    Chairperson - Aravali MUN 2019

    • Served as the Chairperson on the Executive Board of AMUN, our school’s MUN Society.
    • Chaired the committee: “Joint Meet of NATO and the Warsaw Pact”.
    • Organized delegations and have represented my school in various international and national level MUN Conferences.
    • Responsible for introducing the concept of Model UN to various first-timers and inculcate debating and public speaking skills.

    School Student Council

    Vice Captain — Sagar House

    2019 - 2020
    • Elected after having won a direct election by the student body.
    • Key representative for Sagar House before the school community and 2nd in command for decision making for a body of 300+ students.
    • Formed and led teams for house-matches, inter-house competitions and debated.
    • Led Sagar to win the Co-Curricular Cup in 2019.
    • Led Sagar for Sports Day, where Sagar emerged in the 3rd place.
    • Was in-charge of discipline, ethics, and school monitoring as a member of the student-council.

    Form Representative — Grade X

    2018 - 2019


    Form Representative - Grade IX

    2017 - 2018

    Contact

    Address:

    V 25/5, DLF City Phase III,
    Gurgaon - 122002, India

    Call:

    +91 9818149595

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