Prof. Dr. Ivanka Popović is a full professor at the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy in Belgrade. She served as the Rector of the University of Belgrade from 2018 to 2021. During her tenure, the University of Belgrade became a member of a European university alliance. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Tempus Foundation. She is also the Vice-President of the European University Association (EUA) and an Honorary President of the Danube Rectors' Conference (DRC). During her mandate, the Gender Equality Plan for the University of Belgrade was adopted in 2019, and in 2021, the Regulation on Prevention and Protection against Sexual Harassment at the University of Belgrade was implemented. 

IIvanka Popović studied at the University of Maryland, USA, and at the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade (TMF). She graduated, earned her master's degree, and obtained her doctorate from TMF. She began her career at TMF in 1983, where she progressed through all academic ranks to become a full professor and the first female dean of the faculty from 2006 to 2012. Her research focuses on polymer engineering and sustainable development. 

She headed numerous national, bilateral and international projects. Ivanka Popović is the author or co-author of more than je 90 papers in international and national scientific journals with a total citation index greater than 3400 and a h-index of 25. She was the first woman that presided over the Serbian Chemical Society (2009 2013). She was a member of the Executive Board of the European Chemical Society.