{"id":2850,"date":"2026-03-12T09:43:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T09:43:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/?p=2850"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:19:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T10:19:23","slug":"monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Monika Kojak: Women at Imperial Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Monika\u201cI went to a conference where I met many female project managers from the construction sector, and I realised that there are a lot of us now.\u201d<\/h3>\n

Building a career<\/h3>\n

Monika is a Capital Projects Programme Manager in Imperial\u2019s Property Division<\/a>. \u201cI look at how our spaces at Imperial adapt and reflect our Science for Humanity<\/a> and academic strategies. I focus on the benefits, interdependencies, and outcomes of \u00a0projects such as Carbon Net Zero<\/a>, Silwood<\/a> and the Great Environment<\/a>.’<\/p>\n

One of Monika\u2019s current projects is the redevelopment of the Great Hall<\/a>, which also involves redesigning the space to create new teaching areas. \u201cThis is fantastic and ended up being a very complex project. But I can\u2019t wait to see it finished as I think it will be spectacular.\u201d Part of the Great Environment Transformation Portfolio<\/a>, the Great Hall will reopen during spring term 2027, enabling academic growth in South Kensington with a flexible space that will enrich the student experience.<\/p>\n

Starting out as an admin assistant, Monika progressed to project manager, and then worked her way up to programme manager. To her surprise she ended up really enjoying the construction projects she supported early on. \u201cI never thought when I was younger I\u2019d end up doing construction. One of my first projects was a new build nursery. I walked by it a few weeks ago and I could hear the kids playing, and they sounded so happy. It\u2019s nice to build something tangible that will stay there for many years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connecting with other women in construction<\/h3>\n

Over the years Monika has seen women playing an ever increasing role in the construction industry. From sometimes being the only woman in meetings when she started, Monika now sees a lot more female faces in her work. \u201cIt could be intimidating, and I used to feel I really had to make my mark as a woman. But last year I went to a Women in Project Management conference where I met many female project managers from the construction sector, and I realised that there are a lot of us now. It was great to connect, exchange insights, and share experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monika thinks it\u2019s still important to have events like Women at Imperial Week<\/a>. \u201cImperial is really good on this front, but we know other places are not so good. I think it can be inspiring for others to see what we are doing, as we are a world leading university.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feeling supported and having the opportunity to develop her career are both important aspects of working at Imperial for Monika. \u201cPeople are definitely Imperial\u2019s greatest asset \u2013 I work with so many skilled and knowleadgeable people. Being part of the Property Division has been fantastic for me. I have always felt fully supported by my superiors and colleagues, and I hope I have returned that support too. I try and live the Imperial Values<\/a> at work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have also been able to develop in my role. I have achieved chartership with the Association for Project Management, and recently started the Imperial and Corndel Executive Development Programme for senior leaders. You can only do these things with support from your managers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Motherhood and travel<\/h3>\n
\"Monika
Monika with her daughter on the beach in Egypt.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Currently, Monika\u2019s most important and rewarding project is raising her four year old daughter. \u201cI think every mum wants to raise her kid to be an extraordinary human being and I hope I am a good role model for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few years ago, Monika spent three weeks travelling around Egypt on a dizzying array of transport including a felucca (a traditional sailing boat<\/a> used on the Nile), hot-air balloon and camel. \u201cIt was an amazing and very educative trip because I could see all the historic sites, but I also got to meet local people in their own homes, play with their kids and see their typical day. It was also an eye opener when I saw first-hand how little they have compared to us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI went to a conference where I met many female project managers from the construction sector, and I realised that there are a lot of us now.\u201d Building a career Monika is a Capital Projects Programme Manager in Imperial\u2019s Property Division. \u201cI look at how our spaces at Imperial adapt and reflect our Science for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1693,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[288073],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-support-staff"],"yoast_head":"\nMonika Kojak: Women at Imperial Week - Imperial people<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Monika Kojak, Capital Projects Programme Manager, talks about women's growing role in construction, and her role ensuring Imeprial's spaces and buildings support our strategies and ambitions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Monika Kojak: Women at Imperial Week - Imperial people\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Monika Kojak, Capital Projects Programme Manager, talks about women's growing role in construction, and her role ensuring Imeprial's spaces and buildings support our strategies and ambitions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Imperial people\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-12T09:43:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-12T10:19:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/files\/2026\/03\/MonikaMain.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Laurie Anderson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Laurie Anderson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/12\\\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/12\\\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Laurie Anderson\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9c82a214cfefc6f15caf13fe599c13d4\"},\"headline\":\"Monika Kojak: Women at Imperial Week\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-12T09:43:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-12T10:19:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/12\\\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":684,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/12\\\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/files\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/MonikaMain.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Professional staff\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/12\\\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/12\\\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\\\/\",\"name\":\"Monika Kojak: Women at Imperial Week - Imperial people\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/12\\\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/12\\\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/files\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/MonikaMain.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-12T09:43:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-12T10:19:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9c82a214cfefc6f15caf13fe599c13d4\"},\"description\":\"Monika Kojak, Capital Projects Programme Manager, talks about women's growing role in construction, and her role ensuring Imeprial's spaces and buildings support our strategies and ambitions.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/12\\\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/12\\\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/12\\\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/files\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/MonikaMain.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/files\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/MonikaMain.jpg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":432,\"caption\":\"Monika Kojak\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/12\\\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Monika Kojak: Women at Imperial Week\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/\",\"name\":\"Imperial people\",\"description\":\"A look behind the scenes with the staff who make Imperial tick\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9c82a214cfefc6f15caf13fe599c13d4\",\"name\":\"Laurie Anderson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3ecdbf340d42ae195ba3db6d9b46ffa137557065f05f4381293b4faf0f08ad21?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3ecdbf340d42ae195ba3db6d9b46ffa137557065f05f4381293b4faf0f08ad21?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3ecdbf340d42ae195ba3db6d9b46ffa137557065f05f4381293b4faf0f08ad21?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Laurie Anderson\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\\\/imperial-people\\\/author\\\/landers1\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Monika Kojak: Women at Imperial Week - Imperial people","description":"Monika Kojak, Capital Projects Programme Manager, talks about women's growing role in construction, and her role ensuring Imeprial's spaces and buildings support our strategies and ambitions.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Monika Kojak: Women at Imperial Week - Imperial people","og_description":"Monika Kojak, Capital Projects Programme Manager, talks about women's growing role in construction, and her role ensuring Imeprial's spaces and buildings support our strategies and ambitions.","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/","og_site_name":"Imperial people","article_published_time":"2026-03-12T09:43:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-12T10:19:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":432,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/files\/2026\/03\/MonikaMain.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Laurie Anderson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Laurie Anderson","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/"},"author":{"name":"Laurie Anderson","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/#\/schema\/person\/9c82a214cfefc6f15caf13fe599c13d4"},"headline":"Monika Kojak: Women at Imperial Week","datePublished":"2026-03-12T09:43:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-12T10:19:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/"},"wordCount":684,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/files\/2026\/03\/MonikaMain.jpg","articleSection":["Professional staff"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/","name":"Monika Kojak: Women at Imperial Week - Imperial people","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/files\/2026\/03\/MonikaMain.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-12T09:43:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-12T10:19:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/#\/schema\/person\/9c82a214cfefc6f15caf13fe599c13d4"},"description":"Monika Kojak, Capital Projects Programme Manager, talks about women's growing role in construction, and her role ensuring Imeprial's spaces and buildings support our strategies and ambitions.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/files\/2026\/03\/MonikaMain.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/files\/2026\/03\/MonikaMain.jpg","width":640,"height":432,"caption":"Monika Kojak"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2026\/03\/12\/monika-kojak-women-at-imperial-week\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Monika Kojak: Women at Imperial Week"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/","name":"Imperial people","description":"A look behind the scenes with the staff who make Imperial tick","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/#\/schema\/person\/9c82a214cfefc6f15caf13fe599c13d4","name":"Laurie Anderson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3ecdbf340d42ae195ba3db6d9b46ffa137557065f05f4381293b4faf0f08ad21?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3ecdbf340d42ae195ba3db6d9b46ffa137557065f05f4381293b4faf0f08ad21?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3ecdbf340d42ae195ba3db6d9b46ffa137557065f05f4381293b4faf0f08ad21?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Laurie Anderson"},"url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/author\/landers1\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1693"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2850"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2863,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2850\/revisions\/2863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}