Vandinika Shukla: Reflections at Graduation

Shukla, a 2020 Harvard Kennedy School graduate, was a Belfer International and Global Affairs Student Fellow

Vandinika Shukla graduated in May 2020 with a Master in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). Prior to attending HKS, she received a BA in History from Lady Shri Ram College and an MS in International Relations from the London School of Economics. Previously, Shukla worked with UN Women on Policy Design and Advocacy regarding member state implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and mainstreaming gender equality across 66 UN entities. Her policy interests include women’s political participation, youth civic engagement, and protection of democratic institutions from online disinformation.

While at HKS, Shukla decided to charter new territory and pivot from gender policy to tech policy. She explored how her past work on political participation translates to digital democracy and tech policy - a transition she says was “nourishing but also nerve wracking.”

“I was constantly out of my comfort zone and sprinting to catch up,” she says, but she did not let this thwart her from reaching her goals.

Through attending numerous Forum events, lectures, office hours, and musings over free Peet’s coffee, Shukla says there was a consistent message that she received – You are in the room because you belong there. May your work be guided by the people who are not or may never be at the table.

“I spent so many years working to empower young women leaders to boldly own their voice, only to realize at HKS I had to do the same for myself,” she says.

One of the best experiences Shukla had at HKS was co-chairing the Women in Power Conference 2019. She reminisces about the “charm and sweet exhaustion” of arriving at the School at 6am. “I was guilty of being totally jaded by panels and conferences, but leading the WIP Conference with a group of phenomenal women and engaging with Belfer Center’s faculty was an opportunity to take gender policy conversations beyond the binary,” she recalls.

From redefining feminism for the 21st century, gender, and climate change to women shaping foreign policy, she and fellow students organized more than 25 panels, with 400+ attendees, and raised $41,000.

“My favorite memory will always be the moment professors tag-teamed to take care of one of our panelist’s newborn, showing us what women in the workplace really means,” Shukla says. “The conference showed me how HKS can be a microcosm of the world’s ideas and a pulse check of the future. Most of all, I had all my friends come to school on a Saturday and flood me with messages of appreciation and pride, reminding me that we don’t have to do this alone and that the value of seeking inspiration from women around us never fades.”

From her time at HKS, a piece of advice that she would like to share is to take life as it comes. “We spend so much time planning that we forget to live,” she says. “Life is improvisational, and my most memorable moments at HKS have been ones of serendipity.” For example, she learned about her favorite arts entrepreneurship class during a Chinese New Year dumpling party.

From two very different classes, she also learned the importance of questioning where power is concentrated and why: Communications and Internet Law (Prof. Yochai Benkler) and Public Narrative (Prof. Marshall Ganz). “As we prepare for a post COVID-19 world with the opportunity to redesign social and economic policy, I value the lesson to be conscious and intentional about where power lies,” says Shukla. “Asking that question will be the first step to disruption, from interpersonal to political or regulatory leadership.”

After graduation, Shukla plans to continue volunteering with the U.S. Digital Response, managing a community of 5000+ volunteers as they match technologists with local, state and federal governments for their Covid-19 crisis response needs. During the summer, she will also work with Bruce Schneier on responsible AI as a Belfer Summer RA. Shukla hopes to continue work on digital democracy, tech policy and the future of journalism.