Ahmedabad Alumnus Krishnavardhan Yadav, BCom with Major in Accounting, Class of 2018, Amrut Mody School of Management, has qualified for the prestigious Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and eligibility for Assistant Professorship in the National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for December 2020 and June 2021 (merged session). Krishnavardhan is one of 18 candidates to qualify for the Fellowship which is awarded to the top one per cent of the candidates appearing for the NET. The Fellowship, which has a tenure of four years, awards him a grant to pursue a doctoral degree from premier Indian colleges or universities. He also received a Gold Medal for Academic Excellence during the convocation of Pandit Deendayal Energy University (PDEU) by the chief guest, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, for securing the first rank in MA (Public Administration).

Currently an academic associate at the JSW School of Public Policy, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Krishnavardhan is an aspiring researcher, seeking to gain expertise in the sphere of public policy by pursuing a doctoral degree at the IIMs and eventually working in the public sector. “I am pursuing IIM Ahmedabad or Bangalore for my doctorate since these institutions have departments in public policy. Eventually, I wish to balance academics with governance. As a professor in an esteemed university, you get to contribute in the field of governance by being on high level committees at a later stage in your career,” says Krishnavardhan. He adds that public policy is attracting young minds, with Artificial Intelligence gaining ground in governance. “With the recent push to liberal education via the New Education Policy, the domain has received an impetus. As compared to a few years ago, major universities now have full-fledged public policy departments, and that’s worth noting,” he says.

He counts his education at Ahmedabad University as one that instilled an imperative sense of discipline in him. “Through its curriculum and rigour, Ahmedabad University is certainly on par with the best in the country. Studying here contributed immensely towards my ability to work hard and to handle the pressure which is part of life after college, academic and otherwise,” he says.