Dr Katerina Sardi graduated in 1997 and has spent over ten years working for the Greek Regulatory Authority for Energy as Head of Energy Planning and International Affairs. She has recently been appointed Director of Energy and Infrastructure for a Greek-Belgian consulting company.
What do you do currently?
"I am the Director of Energy and Infrastructure for a Greek-Belgian consulting company by the name of KANTOR. I joined KANTOR seven months ago, following a thirteen year term with the Greek Regulatory Authority for Energy (the equivalent of the British Ofgem) as the Head of Energy Planning and International Affairs.
I also teach a number of postgraduate courses at Greek universities, covering a range of diverse subjects from Computational Fluid Dynamics with application to food technology and energy systems, to Green House Gas emissions’ trading."
How did your time at Imperial shape what you are doing now?
"I think that everything I have done up to now is due to the time I spent at Imperial, for a number of reasons. One is of course the fact that Imperial is one of the leading research-led universities. As such a PhD from Imperial is of very high impact and always makes a positive impression to both potential employers and clients. A second reason is that at Imperial I built up two diverse but equally important skills: independent research and multitasking. It is very easy for me to learn almost anything very quickly, and to be able to provide – almost equally quickly - constructive and often innovative input. It is also easy to switch from one issue to another, no matter how diverse or unrelated the two issues may be. All these skills I learned at Imperial."
What is your fondest memory of your time at Imperial?
"Now that almost 20 years have passed since graduation – the response to this question is everything! Last year was the first time that I actually made a donation to Imperial. I have a nine year old son who may be attending one day."
What are your plans for the future?
"Continue to strive for knowledge. To be able to balance between looking at the tiniest nerdiest detail (as is often the case in a PhD), and managing staff and companies."
How would you advise current students?
"To enjoy their time at Imperial, and in parallel make the most of the knowledge and experience that Imperial can offer. I would also advise them to spend time in the Department libraries (if they still exist), and look out for the extensive collection of volumes of numerous journals dating since the mid-1800s."