Cheistha Kochhar, who was a student at LSE

AN LSE student’s legacy lives on at the university following her tragic death in a cycling crash earlier this year.

Cheistha Kochhar, 33, was a first-year PhD student in organisational behaviour at LSE.

On March 19 she was riding an e-bike withCheistha Kochhar

Cheistha KochharCheistha KochharCheistha KochharCheistha KochharCheistha Kochhar her husband when she was killed in a collision with a bin lorry in Clerkenwell Road at around 8.20pm. She was the first cyclist killed in London this year.

In her memory, the department of management at LSE has created an annual award in her name: the Cheistha Kochhar Master of Research Prize.

It will be awarded to the student who achieves the highest mark on the “MRes 5 unit” taught on the masters course and they will receive a cash prize.

The PhD room has also been renamed as the Cheistha Kochhar PhD room.

LSE said: “During her time in the department and at LSE, Cheistha left a lasting impact on everyone she encountered. She is remembered within the department for her fierce intelligence, enduring kindness, and bright, positive energy.

“With her passing, the department and LSE lost a brilliant student and a promising scholar.

“Her dedication to helping and supporting others reverberated not only among her colleagues, but also among the students for whom she was a teaching assistant.

“This new award will ensure Cheistha’s legacy will continue to inspire future generations of MRes students for many years to come.”

After her death Dr Lourdes Sosa, Ms Kochhar’s supervisor at LSE, told the Extra that Ms Kochhar was the “perfect PhD student”.

When Dr Sosa was diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer last September, Ms Kochhar went above her duties as a student to take on her supervisor’s teaching while she recovered. Dr Sosa said: “My surgery took place on September 27 and I have Cheistha’s messages be-fore and after reminding me that it was all going to be OK. She agreed to a teaching assistantship to support me.

“She even insisted on carrying teaching materials for me. Unlike any other PhD student, she ended up leading her first teaching seminar just two months after joining LSE. She was always solving things for me.”

Dr Lidiia Pletneva, assistant professor, said: “I was talking to Cheistha just several days before the tragedy and remember thinking how grateful I am to have such a colleague who really brightens up the day by her warm pure energy and kind words.

“If only I knew this was our last interaction. She will stay in my memory as an exceptional human being who brought light and warmth into this world.”

A date for an inquest has not been set yet.