Nishit Kumar

Nishit Kumar is pursuing his PhD from the Centre for Chinese and South East Asia Studies, School of Language Literature and Culture Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. He has completed his M.Phil from the same Centre and his dissertation topic was “Evolution of Huaju in Modern China: A study of Select Works, 1907-1949”. His PhD thesis titled “China and the Noble Prize: Reception and Impact of the Literature Prize to Mo Yan”.

 Career Goals

As a theatre artist, playing various characters has motivated me to know more about people of different cultures and societies.  And, this has inculcated an urge to know more about the world around. This interest was further intensified when I joined Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) as a student in the Centre for Chinese and South East Asian Studies. While learning Chinese, I had the opportunity to travel and engage with an array of cultures, and today, these experiences have brought me to a juncture where I can see myself as a successful academic in the field of Chinese Studies. Currently, as a PhD candidate at Centre for Chinese and Southeast Asia Studies, I have been selected as a fellow for the ICS-HYI Doctoral Fellowship in China Studies, 2018.

Before coming to JNU, I had a fruitful and lifetime experience at Navodaya School where I was admitted on a scholarship. While living away from family, with students from various backgrounds have helped me in developing a personality that is sensitive and observant to various human experiences.  This indeed is also reflected in my engagement with various fellowships and youth programs that I have been a part of, namely: India-China Youth Exchange Program, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India, 2012; Huawei-Maitree Scholarship, 2012-2013, and Shanghai Municipal People’s Government Scholarship, 2015.

Now, after finishing my Bachelors, masters and MPhil degrees in the Chinese language from JNU, I am planning on a career in academics which is reflected in my engagement with teaching and academic publications that includes interpretation and translation projects.

Apart from academics, I am also so a certified Chinese Tourist Guide approved by the Ministry of Tourism and have six years of experience in the field. As a student of Chinese language, it is crucial for me to be engaged in various aspects of the language, be it academics or online content production, this, in turn, will aid to my the overall learning experience of knowing a language.

Apart from this, I am also passionate about theatre, cricket and adventure sports. Looking at the future, I see myself as a Chinese Studies expert who has command on the language and the field.

Nishit Kumar is a Summer Intern 2018 at Modlingua, New Delhi