Dr. Konstantina Vasilakopoulou
Details
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Department: School of PCPM
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Campus: City Campus Australia
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konstantina.vasilakopoulou@rmit.edu.au
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ORCID:
0000-0002-9235-0782
Open to
- Collaborative projects
- Industry Projects
- Media enquiries
- Masters Research or PhD student supervision
About
Konstantina Vasilakopoulou is a Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellow at the School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University. She has a background spanning climate change, urban environments, building science, and wellbeing.
Konstantina has held significant leadership roles, including serving as Director of the Home Modification Information Clearinghouse (UNSW), where she oversaw national research translation on housing, ageing and accessibility. She is an active member of key professional bodies, including service on an Australian Standards Committee, contributing to national guidelines that shape safe and equitable built environments. Her expertise is underpinned by advanced skills in mixed‑methods research, academic writing, policy translation and stakeholder engagement, supported by a strong publication record across climate adaptation, thermal performance, heritage retrofits and environmental health. She has previously led interdisciplinary teams, secured competitive funding, and built partnerships across government, industry and community sectors, while mentoring emerging researchers and contributing to sector‑wide initiatives on ethical and impactful research practice.
Research fields
- 330314 Sustainable design
- 4101 Climate change impacts and adaptation
- 420606 Social determinants of health
- 33 Built environment and design
UN sustainable development goals
- 10 Reduced Inequalities
- 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
- 3 Good Health and Well Being
- 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
- 1 No Poverty
- 13 Climate Action
- 4 Quality Education
Academic positions
- Vice Chancellor's Research Fellow
- RMIT University
- Melbourne, Australia
- 13 Jan 2025 – Present
- Director
- Home Modification Information Clearinghouse,
- UNSW Sydney
- Australia
- 1 Jan 2021 – 31 Dec 2024
- Lead
- Livability Lab, UNSW Sydney
- Australia
- 1 Jan 2021 – 31 Dec 2024
- Research Associate
- UNSW Sydney
- Sydney, Australia
- 6 Nov 2017 – 31 Dec 2020
- Research Associate
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
- Athens, Greece
- 1 Jul 2013 – 5 Feb 2016
Research interests
Konstantina's research interests centre on the intersection of climate change, urban inequality, and human wellbeing, with a particular focus on vulnerable populations such as aged‑care workers, low‑income communities, and residents of heritage or thermally inefficient buildings. She investigates how environmental stressors shape health, productivity, and social outcomes, and develops evidence‑based interventions that are context‑sensitive and ethically grounded.
Her published work spans climate‑resilient infrastructure, thermal adaptation strategies, sustainable retrofits, and the design of policies that embed equity into urban planning and environmental governance. She is especially committed to research that translates scientific insight into practical, scalable solutions capable of improving everyday life in cities under climate stress.
