Ashna Jain is pursuing a Master of Applied Science at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Global Engineering, where her research focuses on sustainable irrigation technology adoption and scalability in low-resource settings. As a University of Toronto National Scholar, she completed her Bachelor of Applied Science in Industrial Engineering with a minor in Engineering Business and a certificate in Global Engineering.

Ashna has worked on a range of global development projects spanning sustainable agriculture, healthcare, and climate resilience across Canada, Mexico, Africa, and East Asia, bringing expertise in bridging technology adoption with policy and finance frameworks.

As an Engineering for Change fellow, she worked with Synapses, an Indian climate technology venture capital firm, to develop an investment thesis on scaling biochar in the Global South, providing strategic recommendations in response to market risks and barriers to scale. She brings an understanding of cleantech start-up challenges, including raising capital in evolving policy environments, through her work with GET Corp., a renewable energy start-up, and Gro-gel, a social venture.

Ashna currently leads advocacy on Canada-Africa relations and sustainable energy investment through Engineers Without Borders Canada. She hopes to build a career at the intersection of climate technology, policy, and finance.