Ashique Thuppilikkat of the Faculty of Information has been named one of 15 doctoral students at the University of Toronto to receive a Connaught PhDs for Public Impact Fellowship for 2025-26.
The annual fellowships are designed to offer doctoral students the opportunity to explore the world of public scholarship. Fellows focus on engaging the public through their scholarly work – this can take a range of forms, from describing their work in a public forum to partnering with a school, community organization or cultural institution in an ongoing two-way exchange of knowledge and practices.
“The School of Graduate Studies congratulates this latest cohort of emerging public scholars who have received the Connaught PhDs for Public Impact Fellowship,” said Vina Goghari, vice-dean, research and program innovation at the School of Graduate Studies. “We look forward to seeing their public scholarship initiatives unfold, and thank the Connaught Fund for the continued generous support of this program.”
Project Description for Ashique Thuppilikkat:
Outdoor gig workers in Indian cities confront the acute intersection of climate change impacts and socio-economic marginalization. While urban cities grapple with scorching heat waves, hazardous air quality, and recurrent floods, gig workforce such as food delivery riders and ridesourcing drivers—disproportionately drawn from low-income, migrant, and caste-oppressed communities—experience compounded vulnerabilities. Lacking adequate social security protections, they endure both environmental hazards and systemic discrimination, including denied access to basic amenities (e.g., water and restroom) and exclusion from urban and labor policies.
Through participatory design workshops and interviews with Kolkata’s gig workers, supplemented by analysis of environmental data, Ashique’s project aims to develop (a) a community-generated map identifying real-time hazard zones, rest stops, safe spaces, and health resources for gig workers; and (b) a policy brief for worker unions and governments, offering actionable insights into environmental hazards, the intersection of climate change with working conditions, and socio-economic exclusions. Supported by the Connaught PhDs for Public Impact Fellowship, the public-facing deliverables will be disseminated in local languages (Bengali and Hindi) and hosted at www.streetlab.tech.
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