Librae Dinner 8

Kosovare Duraku is an antiracism and antidiscrimination expert currently working with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. With a strong foundation in international human rights law and global criminal law, she has focused on various issues of social justice. During her studies, she researched the legality of Australia’s refugee detention centers and the Dutch niqab ban. Her professional experience includes lobbying for the rights of refugee children at an NGO in Sydney, and working for both the Human Rights Committee in Utrecht and EMMA in The Hague. In the past, she organized protests against Zwarte Piet in Groningen. Today, her activism continues through writing articles on human rights.

Kosovare, a former refugee who fled the war in Kosovë in 1997, has a deep understanding of how different forms of discrimination intersect. Growing up as a racialized woman in Western Europe shaped her perspectives on oppression. She advocates for fostering inclusion in organizations and is passionate about fighting ableism, sexism, racism, and the lasting impacts of colonialism. Kosovare’s work is informed by her belief in the interconnectedness of all forms of oppression, leading her to approach discrimination from a broader, intersectional perspective rather than focusing on a single issue.

I am Maria, a strategic designer with a background in biomedical engineering. Originally from Colombia, I’ve been living in the Netherlands for the past five years, where I completed my master's degree at TU Delft in Strategic Product Design, specialising in Medisign with a variant for engineers. My diverse experience spans various industries and roles, including working with a university in Colombia to enhance the engineering curriculum, conducting UX research in hospitals to improve emergency department logistics and working as a market researcher at Medtronic, supporting the introduction of a new service. In healthcare I previously worked as a UX designer at Envision in the Netherlands, to help improve the everyday life of visually impaired people. Currently, I work as a project manager at Circularise, a sustainability company offering traceability software solutions. I lead complex, international projects funded by the European Commission, collaborating with partners from diverse industries and countries, facing challenges of various natures. As an empowered woman in historically male-dominated sectors, I am passionate about fostering collaboration, driving innovation, and making a meaningful impact. I’m excited to share my journey as a role model speaker and hope to inspire others through my experiences.

Batoul Mesdaghi is an Iranian researcher based in the Netherlands, with a background in Engineering and Policy Analysis from Delft University of Technology. After graduating she worked as a consultant for multiple government bodies on strategy and policy making for climate adaptation in Netherlands. As a consultant, she became increasingly aware of the ways in which historical and contemporary injustices leave marginalized communities vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, perpetuated by policies that fail to address their unique needs and challenges. She therefore joined TNO, where she works on projects related to energy poverty, energy justice, climate communication and intersectionality. Within all the research she does, she constantly advocates for diversity, equity and inclusion, and on an organisational level, she initiated and organized the first company iftar within TNO.

Hi! My name is Floor and I have a background in Mechanical Engineering and Systems & Control at the TU Delft. After my studies I decided to leave the theoretical technical field behind and chose to start at the strategy consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Within the company I have worked on projects within Consumer Goods, Energy, Private Equity and Corporate Finance and Strategy. Happy to meet you all at the Librae dinner to answer all your questions and tell you about the choosing a job outside the core engineering field!

Nataša Josipović is a molecular biologist and currently the Services Team Lead at Single Cell Discoveries, where she specializes in single-cell RNA sequencing. As a contract research organization, Single Cell Discoveries provides advanced transcriptomics solutions for both academic and industrial sectors. In her role, Nataša not only conducts lab experiments but also leads a team of technicians and facilitates smooth collaboration between internal teams and clients. She is committed to fostering team growth, promoting a positive work environment, and encouraging personal development.Before joining Single Cell Discoveries as a Scientist, Nataša earned her PhD in Genomics from the International Max Planck Research School for Genome Science in Göttingen, Germany. During her PhD, she published more than 15 peer-reviewed papers, including three as first co-author. Her research focused on transcriptional regulation, exploring how proteins, non-coding RNAs, and transcriptional machinery work together to regulate cellular homeostasis in health, senescence, and inflammation. This work deepened her interest in single-cell sequencing technologies and guided her decision to pursue a career in industry with a focus on transcriptomics.Outside the lab, Nataša enjoys pole dancing and occasionally playing padel with friends.

Aurélie Hsiao is a French-Taiwanese architect with over 15 years of experience in the AEC industry. She has led award-winning projects across Europe, Asia, and South America. With degrees in architecture from the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands and Tunghai University in Taiwan, and an international business background in France, she brings a unique global perspective to her role as Associate Director & Senior Architect at UNStudio – a global design firm based in Amsterdam with seven international offices. She takes on various roles as part of the global leadership team, ranging from overseeing various teams and projects, to expanding towards new markets.

Beyond her work at UNStudio, Aurélie Hsiao speaks about inclusive leadership and the importance of representation. A topic for which there is still much to do in the AEC industry – and a personal commitment close to her heart.

Among her recent lectures, she was invited to speak at the Paris Institute of Political Sciences ( Sciences Po Paris) to raise awareness among future leaders about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the cultural sector.

I am co-founder of the company Populytics. Populytics is a startup from TU Delft that specializes in the Participatory Value Evaluation consultation method (PVE). The essence of a PWE is that residents experience a choice dilemma in an online environment. They give advice to decision-makers, like the parliament, provinces and municipalities. Our team has consulted more than 150,000 citizens via PVEs on more than 80 issues.

Before starting Populytics I have been in academia. I studied Biomedical Sciences, Medical Anthropology & Sociology. I researched the impact of technology and infrastructure on society in various projects since 2011. Among others, in my PhD research in Philosophy of Technology at TU Delft (2012-2016). Then, as a postdoc at the faculty of TPM, I studied conflicts between citizens and governments in the energy sector.  Together with colleague Niek Mouter (also at TPM), I pioneered the Participatory Value Evaluation as a method for citizen participation. Our application of PVE for energy policy in municipality Sudwest-Fryslân was nominated for the Galjaard Prize. And around the same time, we designed a national PVE-consultations which attracted 30k participants and lots of media attention. This success led to the establishment of the company Populytics in 2020.

Monica is a Project Lead in TenneT, the high-voltage electricity operator of the Netherlands. Originally from Spain with a background in Energy Engineering and a Masters in Sustainable Energy Technology from TU Delft, Monica is working on offshore wind projects projects, currently focusing on the engineering, construction and installation of the first 2GW HVDC offshore substations ever built. These offshore platforms will transmit the power generated by the wind turbines to shore, powering millions of houses with renewable energy by 2030. Her role combines the technical and project management disciplines – reviewing technical documentation, supporting in the engineering design or ensuring safety standards in the project. At the same time, she needs to collaborate with different stakeholders such as international parties and contractors from Singapore or Indonesia, where the offshore platforms will be built before being transported to the North Sea.

Dr. Shahnoor Hasan is a Bangladeshi academic currently affiliated with Deltares, serving as a senior researcher and advisor. Viewed from water governance and politics of development perspectives, her work focuses on bridging divides between scientific and traditional knowledge, formal and informal practices, and diverse sociocultural identities. Shahnoor’s work allows to understand why specific policies and practices emerge and how, and what purposes and whose interests they actually serve. Her work on the Dutch Delta Approach has sparked debate on the Netherlands International Water Ambition. The work has prompted water practitioners to reflect on their methods of exchanging knowledge and expertise, while looking beyond the traditional westernized or Global North driven development models and approaches. The work has contributed to further discussions on inclusion and justice in water cooperation.

Position- recently started as a technical manager at the Rijkswaterstaat within the program renewable energy on government lands (opwek en energie op rijksvastgoed) Field of work- current role involves analysing potential for renewable energy production on government lands along the national highways. Previously I worked at ENGIE, doing my traineeship with a focus on topics like hydrogen & battery markets and energy policy in Europe. Background- M.Sc in Sustainable energy technology and B.Sc in electronics and communications.

After graduating cum laude from industrial design engineering, I have been a consultant with both a small and large consulting firm (PwC Consulting), specializing in innovation management and moderation of creative and strategic processes. I then changed careers to the government working in the field of sustainability, as an advisor, coordinator and manager. After switching to Rijkswaterstaat I helped develop the field of circular infrastructure, a/o through initiating an impulse program within Rijkswaterstaat, by helping build and implement the transition agenda circular construction economy and a sectorwide platform CB’23. My motto: choose work that you are passionate about!

I grew up in Cape Town, South Africa and completed my MSc in Medical Physiology at the University of Stellenbosch. After graduating, I joined Synexa Life Sciences, which is a Dutch head-quartered laboratory services Contract Research Organisation (CRO), to start-up their cell-based assay development group. Within 5 years, I worked my way up from the lab to their global management team. In my current role, I oversee all the immunoassay work we perform globally. With a focus on regulated large molecule pharmacokinetic and Immunogenicity analysis, I ensure validations remain aligned with regulatory expectations. I also manage the development and validation of all soluble biomarker methods based on the relevant "Context-of-Use". Additionally, I am responsible for driving forward global GxP quality harmonization across all our sites and ensuring we deliver the highest quality data in a regulated setting. My goal is to ensure that through policy and practice, our business remains scientifically driven, which is at risk in the current landscape of racing to the finish line for drug product approval. Additionally, as an industry I feel we often forget about the patients involved in the long drug development and approval pipelines, and it’s important that we strive to make all practices as patient centric as possible, to reduce the burden of the drug development process on those who need it the most.

As Development Lead at HEINEKEN Global R&D, I bring my expertise in bioprocess engineering and my extensive experience in process simulation and research & development to practice to create innovative and sustainable solutions for the beverage industry. Currently, I lead a technology program on flavour research and drive drink developments for global Heineken brands. My role involves developing and implementing processes for new products, transitioning them from lab scale to operational companies.

I am originally from Berlin, Germany and moved to the Netherlands 11 years ago to work as a a researcher at the European Space Technology & Research Centre in Noordwijk. I hold a PhD in Bioprocess Engineering from TU Delft, where I developed a novel downstream processing technology for alcohol-free beer. I have published several papers and hold patents in the field of flavour improvement for alcohol-free beer, which presented at international conferences. Recently, I have graduated from the IMD WIN program which helps bringing women into leadership positions. I am looking forward to sharing my journey to becoming an authentic leader, living and working in an international environment and starting a family at the same time.

Saloni is a Low Carbon Consultant at Worley Consulting, based in The Hague, and holds an M.Sc. in Sustainable Energy Technology from TU Delft. She specializes in Power to X feasibility studies and the development of comprehensive decarbonization roadmaps for global clients, focusing on techno-economic considerations and the implications of policy and regulations.

Key Experience:

Conducting feasibility studies for the production of low-carbon fuels such as hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Evaluating low-carbon transport solutions, including buses, trains, and port equipment across Europe.

Developing decarbonization roadmaps aimed at achieving net-zero emissions by integrating energy efficiency, fuel switching, electrification, and carbon capture technologies while considering the economic factors and regulatory frameworks that influence these initiatives.

Saloni is dedicated to assisting clients in accelerating their transition to sustainable, low-carbon energy solutions by leveraging innovation and economic insights, alongside the implications of policy and regulations, to effectively meet their emission reduction goals.

Hi there! I'm Robijn, with a passion for preserving and protecting our planet’s ecosystems, I work as an environmental engineer at Boskalis. I get to dive into diverse and exciting projects, working both at the office and in the field on dredging and coastal protection. While playing a role in our artificial reefs program, I try to blend the wonders of nature with cutting-edge engineering. It's not always easy, but I'm also not one to turn away from a challenge!

I studied International Land and Water Management at Wageningen, focusing on disaster management, particularly related to droughts, fires, and floods. This gave me the tools to combine my interests in nature, engineering, operations, local communities (including interesting topics like voodoo ceremonies) and the many stakeholders involved in the projects I work on.

I find the collaborative nature of my work fulfilling, as it opens the door to exploring innovative solutions that benefit both the environment and our core business. It involves working together and fostering discussions that spark new ideas and inspire sustainable solutions (while also staying practical).

Hala Jabbour is a skilled design engineer with extensive experience in mechanical design, data analysis, and engineering consulting. Currently working at Vuicon Engineering in the Netherlands, Hala leads complex design and modeling projects, particularly in neural sciences. With a background that spans consulting roles at Tedecon and data analytics with Foodo Kft, Hala combines technical expertise with a strong ability to adapt to new challenges and environments.

Hala holds an MSc in Info-Bionics Engineering from Pázmány Péter Catholic University, specializing in bio-nano sensors, imaging devices, and biomedical applications. She also has a BSc in Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering from Tishreen University, where she developed skills in AutoCAD, SolidWorks, MATLAB, and various programming languages like Python and C++.

Beyond her professional pursuits, Hala is passionate about environmental conservation, volunteering with the Natural Protection Society to promote native flora and fauna conservation efforts. Her diverse skill set and commitment to innovation make her a valuable contributor in multidisciplinary engineering and bioengineering projects.

Pauline Levassor is an acoustic engineer at Boskalis in the Netherlands, specializing in underwater sound analysis and noise impact assessment. With a Master’s degree in Environmental Physics from Université de Toulon, Pauline has focused on risk assessment in acoustic environments and holds a Bachelor’s in Physics from Nantes Université.

Her experience includes nearly four years at Nereis Environnement, where she managed acoustic studies, particularly on marine noise and sound source modeling. Pauline also completed internships with the ACOEM Group, gaining skills in sound source localization, and with Nereis Environnement, focusing on ship noise and acoustic footprint modeling. She has also supported industry knowledge sharing by organizing sessions at RADAR Toulon 2019.

Pauline’s expertise in environmental acoustics and her commitment to precise sound impact analysis make her a key contributor to sustainable projects in complex marine environments.

As a little girl I always wondered how things around us work. How does the internet make its connection? Why are some sunset skies pink and others not? Why does an ambulance siren sound weird when it drives past me? It was all of these questions that eventually led me to pursue both a bachelor and master in Applied Physics at TU Delft. That same curiosity is what triggered me to apply for a job at ASML, because how are microchips actually made?!

In my 9-5 I help our customers keep their microchip production process up and running to their needs. An As a little girl I always wondered how things around us work. How does the internet make its connection? Why are some sunset skies pink and others not? Why does an ambulance siren sound weird when it drives past me? It was all of these questions that eventually led me to pursue both a bachelor and master in Applied Physics at TU Delft. That same curiosity is what triggered me to apply for a job at ASML, because how are microchips actually made?!

In my 9-5 I help our customers keep their microchip production process up and running to their needs. An Application Engineer in Customer Support is really the center of the ASML web. I can talk to colleagues from the field in Asia or America, have a technical discussion with colleagues from D&E and question product strategy with product owners.. All on the same day!

During my time in Delft, I participated in the very first pilot of Librae's mentorship program. Because I realized that the challenges that I would be facing in the work force would not be same as for my male peers that I had just spent years studying with. Some of the conversations I've had with my mentor still resonate in my mind. The fact that a couple of years later I'm on the other end of the mentorship program feels like a circle completed to me. I hope to pay it forward. is really the center of the ASML web. I can talk to colleagues from the field in Asia or America, have a technical discussion with colleagues from D&E and question product strategy with product owners.. All on the same day!

During my time in Delft, I participated in the very first pilot of Librae's mentorship program. Because I realized that the challenges that I would be facing in the work force would not be same as for my male peers that I had just spent years studying with. Some of the conversations I've had with my mentor still resonate in my mind. The fact that a couple of years later I'm on the other end of the mentorship program feels like a circle completed to me. I hope to pay it forward.

Alyona Makarova is a Quantitative Researcher at Maven Securities, where she uses her expertise in mathematics and programming to develop innovative strategies for financial markets. With a strong foundation in data analysis and risk management from her work at VTB24, Alyona has honed her skills in understanding complex financial systems and finding ways to optimize performance. Her academic journey at Lomonosov Moscow State University, where she earned both a Bachelor's and a Master’s in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, laid the groundwork for her success in a traditionally male-dominated field. Alyona’s career reflects her commitment to pushing boundaries in quantitative finance, making her a remarkable role model for women in STEM.

Nikki Blankerts is a dedicated Consultant in Energy Transition at Royal HaskoningDHV, a leading global consulting engineering company.

In her role, Nikki plays a significant part in advancing industries towards net-zero by providing insights into the key drivers of decarbonization technologies and their business cases. She provides a mix of engineering and strategic services to support companies, public-private players, and governments in the fields of energy transition, alternative fuels, renewable electricity, offshore wind, and port investments.

With a background in Biochemical Engineering from Delft University of Technology, Nikki effectively contributes to the development and optimization of hydrogen production methods and biofuel technologies. She applies her chemical engineering knowledge to real-world applications, ensuring the implementation of efficient and sustainable solutions.

Nikki's dedication to empowering the electrification of industry makes her an inspiring role model for female students in STEM who aspire to work in the energy transition field.