A Policy Researcher, Shailly Kedia is striving to bring a paradigm shift in society by challenging existing social and policy norms by pursuing Policy Research and Policy Advocacy on Climate Change.

Shailly Kedia is a Fellow and Associate at TERI, New Delhi.

Shailly’s father was in a transferable job and owing to that she got to live and study in different cities in the country. Besides studies,  at school, she would participate in extra-curricular activities with vigor. She pursued Deep Sea Swimming as a kid.

Shailly says that she did a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering followed by an MBA in Finance. Following this, she worked in the corporate sector in different jobs. But working in the corporate sector, she didn’t quite get the fulfillment that she was hankering for. Meanwhile, she happened to work with NASA scientists on Climate Change at a research institute based in the US which grew her interest in Research.  After that, she came back to India and joined TERI, New Delhi.

Talking about her mistakes, she says that initially, she focused more on getting as many educational degrees as she could to secure a good job which was a mistake as she thinks that instead of working for job security she should have pursued her interest i.e. Research from early on.

Shailly thinks that as a policy researcher, being able to assist policy formulators to frame policies and thus bring about a change in society, is an achievement for her.

To aspiring researchers, Shailly advises them that it’s a must to have a mentor to pursue Research. Besides, she advises them to always keep themselves updated with the latest research and also to interact with researchers in their field of interest. Furthermore, she advises them to always remain patient as it takes time to come up with groundbreaking research.

To Environment Activists, Shailly advises them to always stick to what they believe in to save the environment irrespective of what people have to say.

In her spare time, Shailly likes to read books and play with her pet dogs. Besides, to keep herself energized, she keeps learning new things.

To people, her message is that the journey may be tough but never stop chasing your dreams.