Divya Sharma
Areas of Interest & Expertise
- Socio-ecological Systems
- Adaptive Decision Making
- Climate Change
- Livelihoods
- Agriculture
- Agent Based Models
- Social Network Analysis
- System Dynamics
Biography
Divya works at the intersection of complexity and adaptive decision-making. She has a keen interest in understanding livelihood decisions through the socio-ecological system lens. She works with tools like agent-based modelling, social network analysis, and system dynamics to understand livelihood decisions.
She is a recipient of PhD Grant from the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA) supported Himalayan Adaptation, Water and Resilience Research on Glacier and Snowpack Dependent River Basins for Improving Livelihoods programme.
She is also a recipient of DAAD grant to conduct research at Environmental Policy Research Centre (FFU), Freie Universität Berlin and Annual fellowship from National Mission on Himalayan Studies(NMHS), Ministry of Environment, Government of India.
Before joining the University, she worked at IIT Roorkee as a postdoc and project coordinator. She also has six years of industrial experience in computer-aided designing and stress analysis in the domain of aerospace and consumer appliances.
She has worked in organisations like Infosys Technologies Limited, Tech Mahindra, Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI), and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
She holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and was a gold medalist in her master’s programme in Climate Science and Policy.
Courses
Sustainable agriculture and development
This course aims to situate agricultural growth in the country within the development and sustainability debate.
Methods for Social Research and Action
Learn how to define a problem, design research, collect data and present findings.
Publications
Chapter in Edited Book
- Rijhwani, V., Sharma, D., Khandekar, N., Rathod, R., & Govindan, M. (2021). Gender dynamics and climate variability: Mapping the linkages in the Upper Ganga Basin in Uttarakhand, India. In A. Hans, N. Rao, A. Prakash, & A. Patel (Eds.), Engendering Climate Change: Learnings from South Asia (pp. 201 – 225). Taylor & Francis. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003142409 – 12/gender-dynamics-climate-variability-vani-rijhwani-divya-sharma-neha-khandekar-roshan-rathod-mini-govindan
Journal Articles
- Sharma, D., Khandekar, N., & Sachdeva, K. (2021). Exploratory agent-based model to understand migration scenarios: A study from the Indian Himalayan Region, Uttarakhand. Development in Practice, 31(1), 81 – 92. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2020.1801583
- Sharma, D., Khandekar, N., & Sachdeva, K. (2019). Addressing water-related shocks and coping decision through enhanced community participation: Case studies from Ganga basin, Uttarakhand, India. Water Policy, 21(5), 999‑1016. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2019.026
- Sen, S. M., Singh, A., Varma, N., Sharma, D., & Kansal, A. (2019). Analyzing social networks to examine the changing governance structure of Springsheds: A case study of Sikkim in the Indian Himalayas. Environmental Management, 63(2), 233 – 248. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-018‑1128‑0
Magazine Article
- Manjula, M., Manikandan, V., & Sharma, D. (2022, September 21). Building farm resilience through natural farming – Reflections from Field. Leisa India. https://leisaindia.org/building-farm-resilience-through-natural-farming-reflections-from-field/
Online Articles
- Manjula, M., & Sharma, D. (2022, September 05). A just growth pathway for agriculture in a changing climate. Mongabay. https://india.mongabay.com/2022/09/an-equitable-and-just-growth-pathway-for-agriculture-during-changing-climate/
- Sharma, D. and Khandekar, N. (2020, September 19). Decision Support Space: A concept. India Water Portal. https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/decision-support-space-concept