Steef Polderdijk graduated in 1978 as an Aeronautical Engineer at Delft University of Technology (NL).

After a period in the Royal Netherlands Navy he worked for Shell between 1980 and 1986, four years in Offshore Research followed by two years in Pipeline Projects.

In 1986 Steef joined the European Patent Office in Munich as an Examiner in the fields of Mechanics (civil engineering).

Steef passed the papers set for the European Qualifying Examination in 1996 and has since then been a tutor at the International Section of the French University, CEIPI, where he trains candidates for the European Qualification Examination. He also worked for a period in the Directorate Harmonisation and Quality (now Quality Audit) of the EPO.

From 2000 to 2019, Steef has been a Director of several Examining Directorates in the EPO (Textiles/Paper making/Metal Working/Sensors/Lithography).

After leaving the EPO he qualified as a European Patent Attorney.

Steef is coordinator of the CEIPI preparation courses for papers A and B of the EQE.

Steef speaks German, English and Dutch.