Evgenia (Jenny) Leivadarou
Jenny built her career, with strong technical background and analytical skills, based on her
passion for water infrastructures, resources management and sustainable development. She
is currently completing her 5th degree, writing up her PhD thesis in fluid mechanics for
sustainable development in the Department of Applied Mathematics, at the University of
Cambridge. Her work is focused on the fundamental science of water technologies (SDG 6),
energy production (SDG 7), green manufacturing (SDG 9), sustainable cities (SDG 11) and
ocean circulation (SDG 14). Through her research she uses mathematics and physics for
product optimisation, aiming to save energy and processing time in manufacturing
engineering.
Jenny recently completed her work at the UN headquarters, New York. She got involved in
inclusion policies (SDG10), initiating collaborations with other UN Agencies such as the UNDP
and UNICEF. She was asked to provide advice on matters of green buildings and wheelchair
accessibility and she was the first person who tried the step free access to the UN General
Assembly podium. She was also invited as a guest speaker by the Department of Economic
and Social Affairs, presenting her work on engineering for sustainable development.
Earlier in her career and after obtaining her MEng in Civil Engineering and her MSc in Water
Resources Management, she went on to work as an engineering consultant. As a junior
engineer she worked for 3 years, on river basin master plans and flood protection focused on
SDG 6. Later as a project manager, she coordinated design teams and oversaw negotiations
between parties.
Since the use of a wheelchair became mandatory for her condition in 2012, she made the
decision to move to the University of Cambridge, to pursue her dream and get involved in
policy and international projects for sustainable development. The economic and
environmental impact of national and international policies was always fascinating to her,
hence she obtained an MPhil in Planning for Regeneration Policies. During her MPhil studies
she investigated green urban planning initiatives, focused mostly on SDG 7 and 11. She has
extensive experience in drafting and editing documents, providing policy interpretation and
advice in international development projects.
During her 5 years in Cambridge, she has been the ambassador of Queens college and she has
been invited as a keynote speaker to MIT, Stanford and numerous international conferences.
Last year she traveled to Sydney, Australia and collaborated with scientists at the Australian
Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, funded by the Australian Government’s SuperScience
Initiative. As a human rights advocate for inclusion, she was privileged to work closely
with Prof. Stephen Hawking mainly on matters of disability rights, and she has been a member
of the European Economic & Social Committee.
Her primary role in the Global Network for Sustainable Development is to mentor students on
possible career paths related to science and engineering. She hopes to motivate young
individuals by explaining the fundamental science of physical phenomena that we observe on
a daily basis. She is a woman of purpose, trying to promote inclusion and enhance global
movement, with a multicultural approach towards communication and exchange of ideas.
Jenny built her career, with strong technical background and analytical skills, based on her
passion for water infrastructures, resources management and sustainable development. She
is currently completing her 5th degree, writing up her PhD thesis in fluid mechanics for
sustainable development in the Department of Applied Mathematics, at the University of
Cambridge. Her work is focused on the fundamental science of water technologies (SDG 6),
energy production (SDG 7), green manufacturing (SDG 9), sustainable cities (SDG 11) and
ocean circulation (SDG 14). Through her research she uses mathematics and physics for
product optimisation, aiming to save energy and processing time in manufacturing
engineering.
Jenny recently completed her work at the UN headquarters, New York. She got involved in
inclusion policies (SDG10), initiating collaborations with other UN Agencies such as the UNDP
and UNICEF. She was asked to provide advice on matters of green buildings and wheelchair
accessibility and she was the first person who tried the step free access to the UN General
Assembly podium. She was also invited as a guest speaker by the Department of Economic
and Social Affairs, presenting her work on engineering for sustainable development.
Earlier in her career and after obtaining her MEng in Civil Engineering and her MSc in Water
Resources Management, she went on to work as an engineering consultant. As a junior
engineer she worked for 3 years, on river basin master plans and flood protection focused on
SDG 6. Later as a project manager, she coordinated design teams and oversaw negotiations
between parties.
Since the use of a wheelchair became mandatory for her condition in 2012, she made the
decision to move to the University of Cambridge, to pursue her dream and get involved in
policy and international projects for sustainable development. The economic and
environmental impact of national and international policies was always fascinating to her,
hence she obtained an MPhil in Planning for Regeneration Policies. During her MPhil studies
she investigated green urban planning initiatives, focused mostly on SDG 7 and 11. She has
extensive experience in drafting and editing documents, providing policy interpretation and
advice in international development projects.
During her 5 years in Cambridge, she has been the ambassador of Queens college and she has
been invited as a keynote speaker to MIT, Stanford and numerous international conferences.
Last year she traveled to Sydney, Australia and collaborated with scientists at the Australian
Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, funded by the Australian Government’s SuperScience
Initiative. As a human rights advocate for inclusion, she was privileged to work closely
with Prof. Stephen Hawking mainly on matters of disability rights, and she has been a member
of the European Economic & Social Committee.
Her primary role in the Global Network for Sustainable Development is to mentor students on
possible career paths related to science and engineering. She hopes to motivate young
individuals by explaining the fundamental science of physical phenomena that we observe on
a daily basis. She is a woman of purpose, trying to promote inclusion and enhance global
movement, with a multicultural approach towards communication and exchange of ideas.