Svjetlana Stekovic studied for a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering with a specialisation in Engineering Materials and graduated from Linköping University in 2001. After graduating, she worked as a lecturer in Finite Element Method (FEM) at Växjö University and then started her PhD studies in Engineering Materials. Svjetlana took her PhD in 2007. During the PhD studies she established contacts with EU projects, where she gained a good understanding of how to lead this type of project with many players and several countries involved.
“It’s nice to get a diploma like this, especially in a male dominated field and to receive it from men, but men have also helped me. My colleagues from Rolls Royce and Innovair have opened some doors for me”, Svjetlana says.
Svjetlana Stekovic gained industry experience by working at Rolls Royce in Derby for five years. There, she studied the extreme material applications that occur in aircraft engines when it comes to fatigue, crack growth, oxidation, and corrosion of nickel-based superalloys.
This international experience is utilised at Linköping University, where Svjetlana Stekovic now works both as a senior coordinator for EU projects and as a senior researcher. Svjetlana Stekovic is active in the strategic innovation programme for aeronautics, Innovair, and she has shaped and participated in a Clean Sky project and national and bilateral collaborations. Svjetlana Stekovic has also made Sweden’s voice heard in Clean Sky as an appreciated panel member at follow-ups.