With her own consulting firm, TUM alumna Dr. Sindi Haxhija advises international institutions across the EU on issues of mobility justice and energy transition, for example as Thematic Partnership Officer for the Urban Agenda for the EU. The picture shows her in front of the Berlaymont building, the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels (Photo: Private).
Even during her studies, Sindi Haxhija worked on demanding urban‑planning projects where she contributed to designing the sustainable development goals for the Albanian municipality of Shkodra. Later on she joined a nonprofit think tank in The Hague that carried out EU‑wide research projects on urban development and the energy transition.
A Crucial Turning Point
After completing her dual master’s program, Sindi Haxhija wanted to pursue a PhD. “I was looking for a doctoral program where I wouldn’t be seen merely as a student,” she emphasizes. “I wanted to continue working on projects while building my own professional profile.” Her PhD in Engineering and Design at TUM made that possible.
Her own research, along with her academic and professional experience as an urban planner, repeatedly highlighted how structural inequalities in research and policy often appear in who defines problems, whose knowledge is considered legitimate or valuable, and who is included in decision‑making processes. Especially in mobility and urban‑development research, she observed stark differences between those most affected by mobility and urban policies—often low‑income groups, migrants, and women—and those shaping research agendas or political priorities.
“These inequalities are continuously reproduced by funding structures, disciplinary silos, and institutional cultures,” she says. “A crucial turning point in my research direction was deciding not only to focus on planning and infrastructure from a technical perspective, but also on the social and political dimensions of mobility.”
“The doctoral program at TUM was what I was looking for, allowing me to combine academic work with real-world projects.”
In 2025, she completed her Doctorate at TUM with distinction. “The doctoral program at TUM was exactly what I was looking for: a program that combines academic work with real‑world projects,” she says. “As a university with an outstanding reputation regionally, nationally, and internationally, TUM has the credibility, networks, and research capacity to influence mobility policy and practice far beyond Bavaria.”
Designed Around Her Own Needs
Along with her passion for urban planning, two things drive Sindi Haxhija and shape her career choices: she wants enough time for her family in Germany and Albania, and she wants the freedom to relocate whenever necessary. For that reason, she knew after her PhD that freelancing would be her path.
For over a year now, she has been working with her own consulting company as an external expert on several projects – often in collaboration with previous TUM colleagues, who have become important partners. Since 2024, she has served as a Thematic Partnership Officer for the Urban Agenda for the EU within the European Urban Initiative. In this role, she brings stakeholders together and manages a partnership focused on the decarbonization of buildings.
A Role Model
Sindi Haxhija is an alumna who combines academic excellence, European policy development, and lived empowerment. Her academic and professional experiences in Albania, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany helped her understand how different planning systems shape inequality and opportunity. “Moving between these contexts made me more empathetic as an urban planner,” she says.
“Moving between these contexts made me more empathetic as an urban planner.”
At the upcoming Women of TUM Talks 2026, “Closing the Gap – Stories of Choice, Challenge, and Change,” on March 17, 2026, Sindi Haxhija will trace how decisions, challenges, and structural conditions shape one’s professional path. She brings a clear perspective on how to make inequalities visible, address barriers, and translate change‑oriented policies into practice. Her story inspires through international experience, expertise in sustainable urban development, participation‑oriented mobility research, and her commitment to equitable and future‑ready urban spaces. “That’s my great passion,” she says. “I never tire of it – or of what I can learn from it.”
Dr. Sindi Haxhija (Image: private).
Doctorate Engineering and Design 2025
Sindi Haxhija holds an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree in Urban Planning from Polis University in Albania and, through an Erasmus Mundus scholarship, a dual master’s degree from Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and the Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, Sweden. From 2022 to 2025, she completed her PhD in Engineering and Design at TUM.
Through her consulting company, she advises international institutions across the EU on mobility justice and the energy transition—for example, since 2024 as Thematic Partnership Officer for the Urban Agenda for the EU within the European Urban Initiative. As a native Albanian, she hopes to continue contributing to urban‑development projects in her home country, advancing decarbonization while ensuring that the transition benefits all residents rather than reinforcing existing inequalities.
Sindi Haxhija lives in Munich with her husband. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and exploring the cultural offerings of the Bavarian capital.
