The Sharma Foundation: Seeding the future
Samit Sharma, MASc’98, is not in the agriculture business, nor is he a professor at a university. But every day, Samit, his wife Reshma, and his sister Raina, MA’00, devote their time to planting seeds for the future growth of knowledge and innovation in society, and, through their example, teach others about the powerful impact of philanthropy.
“The goal of our foundation is to identify and recognize excellence in education with the hope that when people are proud of what they excel at, they will make great contributions to society,” says Samit, co-founder of the Samit & Reshma Sharma Foundation. “Education is the key to prosperity. Progress happens only when we generate knowledge, especially at the graduate levels where we are creating new knowledge and identifying how we can do something better, which in turn generates wealth for a society.”
Since 2021, the Samit & Reshma Sharma Foundation has so far created 63 graduate student awards in a wide range of disciplines at 21 universities in Canada from coast to coast, starting with the University of Regina where the Sharma’s established Gaia Power’s Samit Sharma Scholarship for Graduate Engineering and Applied Science. Gaia Power Inc. is an energy development firm Samit founded more than two decades ago for renewable power projects.
“Receiving the scholarship in 2022 was instrumental in enabling me to focus on my research into how climate change impacts heating and cooling demands for buildings,” says Dr. Chuyin Tian, PhD’24, who was the recipient of the Sharma Scholarship while studying Environmental Systems Engineering at the U of R. “This work has significant implications for provinces like British Columbia, which are actively transitioning to low-carbon and renewable energy solutions.”
“This scholarship is not only a financial aid, but also an inspiration for scholars like me to contribute to sustainable energy transitions under climate change.” Chuyin Tian is now applying his expertise in energy systems and climate modeling in his postdoctoral research at the University of Waterloo.
An effective person not only climbs the ladder, but also helps pull up others who are coming behind. That’s what philanthropy does – it enables society to do better.
– Samit Sharma
Area of greatest interest
As a result of receiving financial help for graduate studies himself, Samit came to Saskatchewan from India in 1996 to pursue a graduate degree in Industrial Systems Engineering at the U of R.
“At some point in our careers, we all look at how we can give back, because all that you are today has come from society. So, it makes sense for you to give back to the society you benefitted from,” says Samit. “I relate to the needs of graduate students. Now I can return this gift manifold at a lot of different institutions so that students down the line can benefit and get an excellent education.”
A scholarship is more than financial aid to a student; it is recognition that what they’re doing stands head and shoulders above the rest and emboldens them to do great things for society.
– Samit Sharma
This fall, the Sharmas created two more scholarships at the U of R based on an endowment of $100,001 for each. The scholarships will be awarded beginning in 2027.
“In Indian culture, odd numbers are considered auspicious and so every time you give a gift for a good cause you add $1 to it,” explains Samit. “The idea is that the number with the 0, in this case $100,000, is for the cause you are giving to, and the number 1 is added as the seed for future growth, so that the gift keeps growing from that point onwards.”
The Samit & Reshma Sharma Scholarship in Sociology & Social Studies is designed to enhance interdisciplinary research and teaching that delve into the connections between social conditions, institutions, policy, and societal well-being. The Samit & Reshma Sharma Scholarship in Resource Systems Engineering is designed to promote sustainable development through interdisciplinary research and teachings that straddle the fields of resources, processing, and environmental impact.
Learn more about the Sharma Foundation
Researching the environment
A lot of diligent research, time, and effort goes into each award that the Sharma Foundation establishes in every institution they support. The scholarship areas that they support must be unique to the university to avoid duplicating funding among the supported institutions.
“We try to identify the three top areas in each university for which they are well-known or have a competitive advantage, in terms of their programs, achievements or the ecosystem in which they operate, and then create graduate student scholarships in those areas,” says Samit.
To date, the foundation has identified approximately 27 leading universities in Canada where the institutions are known for their graduate research and accomplishments that benefit society.
“If we did not have public support for universities, the world would be more selfish,” stresses Samit. “Philanthropy gives a wider meaning to initiatives in the universities. Our contribution is only as good as how we help others.”
Banner photo credit: Samit Sharma