Vigya Sharma

Vigya is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM), part of the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland, Australia

She has several years of experience in applied research across domestic and international mining and energy sectors. Specifically, her interests are in understanding how the presence (or absence) of resources impacts development outcomes in host communities and regions. In her current role, she is leading the Centre’s work on fossil fuel transitions, particularly looking at the social, political and economic impacts of coal phase-out in India, China, and Australia.

Vigya also coordinates and is the primary lecturer for the undergraduate course on Humanitarian Engineering, offered to students in the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology (EAIT). She led the design and delivery of this course, first introduced at UQ in 2020.

She advises several PhD students on topics including energy transitions, just transitions, mine closure, and energy and development.

She serves on the Editorial Boards of Energy Research and Social Science and Sustainability Science. In 2023, she was invited to join the UN Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition (CEET), established at COP27. CEET is an Independent Advisory Council to the UN Secretary-General, to contribute to their goal to build a coalition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and to support the United Nations to achieve global decarbonisation goals by mid-century.

Prior to joining CSRM, she was based at the Energy and Poverty Research Group (EPRG), an interdisciplinary pan-UQ initiative established to support positive social, environmental and health outcomes vital for sustainable and productive livelihoods in energy-impoverished communities globally. Vigya led this group's engagement and research in India, a priority country for both UQ and the EPRG.

Initially trained as an engineer, her PhD in social sciences has allowed her a deep appreciation for interdisciplinary thinking and practice. She continues to build on these skills and undertake wide-ranging research, research management, training, and engagement to contribute to long-term positive change in the energy and resources sector.