In at the moment’s world of innovation and cross-disciplinary collaboration, few professionals handle to deliver collectively deep educational experience, international instructing expertise, and sensible business know-how as seamlessly as Dr. Sidra Afzal Shaikh. With a PhD in Digital Engineering from the College of Liverpool and a physique of labor that spans natural semiconductors, renewable power, larger training, and logistics operations, her profession is something however standard.
From school rooms in Karachi and Dubai to cleanrooms within the UK and logistics hubs in Texas, Dr. Shaikh has cultivated a multidisciplinary identification. On this dialog, she shares the turning factors of her journey, her insights on the way forward for training and engineering, and why adaptability is now not non-compulsory.
Sidra, thanks for becoming a member of us. What sparked your preliminary curiosity in electrical engineering?
It started with a need to know how issues work. I used to be a type of children who had been at all times curious in regards to the interior mechanics of devices and machines. That curiosity become fascination, and engineering felt just like the pure path ahead. Whereas learning on the College of Liverpool, I discovered myself drawn to medical instrumentation. The concept that expertise might instantly enhance human life made it extra than simply technical work. It gave it goal.
Your PhD analysis centered on natural electronics, which stays a distinct segment discipline. Are you able to inform us about that work?
Natural electronics appealed to me as a result of it mixed superior supplies science with real-world potential. My analysis centered on {the electrical} traits of polycrystalline-based natural semiconductors, significantly gadgets made utilizing TIPS-pentacene. I spent a variety of time fabricating and analyzing Schottky diodes, attempting to know how natural supplies could possibly be used as a viable different to silicon in purposes like versatile shows or biomedical sensors.
What made it significantly thrilling was the hands-on side. I used to be within the lab consistently, working exams, gathering information, and deciphering machine conduct underneath varied thermal and environmental circumstances. That have helped me develop a pointy understanding of experimental precision and analytical considering, which I carry with me even exterior the lab.
After finishing your doctorate, you transitioned into instructing. What did that section of your journey educate you?
Educating was by no means a backup plan for me; it was one thing I felt naturally drawn to. I started in Pakistan and later moved into educational roles within the UAE. Whether or not I used to be working with early-career engineers or professionals taking up superior tasks, my purpose was at all times the identical: to create an surroundings the place studying felt energetic, related, and empowering.
I taught topics corresponding to sensors, actuators, electronics, and sign processing, whereas additionally contributing to curriculum design, lab growth, and accreditation processes. Partaking with professionals throughout totally different nations gave me a broader perspective on how technical coaching and training should adapt to business calls for and cultural contexts with out compromising rigor.
In a shocking shift, you entered the world of operations administration and later skilled in information analytics. What impressed that transition?
After a number of years in academia, I wished a brand new problem. I joined a third-party logistics firm in Texas as an operations supervisor, overseeing warehouse achievement, group efficiency, and consumer coordination. It was a really totally different surroundings from academia, however I discovered that lots of the identical problem-solving expertise nonetheless utilized. Whether or not you’re debugging a circuit or streamlining a provide chain, you’re coping with programs that require optimization and readability.
To enhance that position, I accomplished a bootcamp that centered on SQL, Energy BI, and Microsoft Azure. That opened up new methods of working with information. Now I might visualize tendencies, determine inefficiencies, and make knowledgeable selections shortly. That mixture of engineering self-discipline and information fluency is one thing I imagine will likely be important in virtually each discipline going ahead.
What challenges did you face whereas transitioning from a technical engineering position into managerial management?
The most important problem was studying to let go of the urge to unravel every thing myself. As an engineer, you’re skilled to research, mannequin, and repair. As a supervisor, your success relies upon extra on enabling others, setting a imaginative and prescient, and letting the group take possession. That shift from private execution to collaborative management was a steep however rewarding studying curve. I discovered to worth communication as a lot as technical accuracy.
You’ve additionally revealed vital work within the renewable power house, significantly on photo voltaic radiation research in South Asia and the Gulf. What motivated that analysis?
Residing in nations that obtain intense daylight year-round, I typically puzzled why we weren’t doing extra with photo voltaic power. That curiosity turned a analysis focus and has since formed a collection of publications:
- Photo voltaic and Wind Vitality Potential Research of Decrease Sindh, Pakistan for Energy Era (2016)
- Photo voltaic Radiation Research for Dubai and Sharjah (2013)
- Whole, Beam, and Diffuse Photo voltaic Radiation Research on Horizontal Surfaces for Rohri, Sindh (2013)
These research, broadly cited in regional power analysis, supplied a number of the earliest structured information for photo voltaic feasibility in South Asia and the Gulf. Even at the moment, as nations revisit renewable methods, they continue to be a reference level.
Most lately, my 2025 peer-reviewed article, The Evaluate of Enhancing Semiconductor Provide Chain Resilience by means of Natural Electronics: A Supplies Engineering Perspective (IJARESM), expands this trajectory by linking renewable power adoption with the worldwide semiconductor ecosystem. It argues for natural semiconductors not solely as technical options but in addition as resilience instruments towards international provide shocks.
Past revealed work, I’m presently collaborating on new research that study versatile natural gadgets for renewable integration, AI-driven forecasting of photo voltaic and wind assets, and IoT-enabled power harvesting programs. A number of of those are underneath educational evaluate and are already producing discussions in analysis circles. The truth that each policymakers and doctoral fellows are partaking with this line of labor reveals how scholarship can transfer from lab information to real-world power methods.
You’ve additionally distilled your analysis into the E-book, Utilized Natural Electronics: Polycrystalline Semiconductors for Trendy Units.. What hole had been you aiming to fill with this work, and the way do you see it shaping conversations in sustainable electronics and IoT?
The thought for the guide grew out of the worldwide semiconductor scarcity of 2020, which highlighted simply how dependent trendy applied sciences are on silicon. I wished to current natural polycrystalline semiconductors as a critical, scalable different — supplies that would assist low-power, versatile purposes in renewable power programs, IoT gadgets, and AI-driven sensors.
Since its launch, Utilized Natural Electronics: Polycrystalline Semiconductors for Trendy Units has gone past educational circles. In 2024 and 2025, it has been cited by business professionals designing IoT prototypes and sustainable power gadgets, whereas additionally being adopted in educational coaching. At ETL On-line’s doctoral fellowship program and at ITKAN (itkan.one), the place I function a mentor and advisor, PhD students repeatedly use the guide’s methodologies of their coursework and utilized tasks. For business readers, it has develop into a sensible bridge between lab analysis and deployable applied sciences. For doctoral fellows, it offers structured pathways to attach materials science with AI-driven information modeling. That mix of commercial and educational relevance is precisely what I hoped to realize.
You’ve labored with industries and professionals throughout totally different nations. Out of your perspective, what do they want most to thrive at the moment?
I believe the largest want is readability and braveness. There’s a lot data on the market that it could possibly really feel paralyzing. I typically inform my college students: don’t anticipate an ideal plan — simply begin. Observe the concept or mission that excites you, even when it doesn’t match neatly right into a field. Expertise and instruments will change, however curiosity and confidence are what carry you ahead. And mentors who offer you house to develop and problem you on the identical time could make all of the distinction. I used to be fortunate to have that assist, and I attempt to pay it ahead.
Wanting forward, what are you presently centered on and what excites you most in regards to the future?
I’m exploring alternatives that enable me to combine engineering, information science, and academic growth. Whether or not it’s consulting for good infrastructure, contributing to digital transformation in academia, or main data-driven innovation in logistics, I’m curious about roles that problem me and create constructive outcomes.
What excites me most is the rising fluidity between disciplines. We’re transferring into an period the place an individual with technical depth, communication expertise, and cross-functional considering will likely be much more worthwhile than somebody siloed in a single area. That’s the place I need to be — on the intersection of concepts and influence.
And personally, what retains you motivated by means of such a dynamic and evolving profession?
Gratitude and goal. I remind myself typically why I began. To not chase titles however to contribute one thing significant. Whether or not I’m serving to a younger skilled perceive a troublesome idea, optimizing an operation, or designing a brand new system, I see it as a type of service. That mindset retains me grounded and hungry to do extra.
Any ultimate ideas for our readers?
Keep curious. Don’t field your self into one model of success. The world is altering quickly, and so are you able to. Reinvention isn’t failure, it’s development. Embrace it, and by no means cease studying. Readers who want to observe my work and ongoing analysis can join with me on LinkedIn
