Daniel Yaw Addai Duah

Faculty Biography

Daniel Yaw Addai DUAH is an Associate Professor and current Head of the Department of Architecture, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. As a Chartered Architect, Fellow of the Ghana Institute of Architects, and Distinguished Fellow Project Management Professional of the Institute of Project Management Professionals, Ghana, he has over 19 years of experience in teaching, research, consultancy and mentorship and over 18 years in administrative/governancepositions. Professor Duah obtained his doctoral degree in Planning, Design, and Construction (Construction Management Specialty) from Michigan State University, USA in 2014; MSc. in Construction Management and Economics from the University of Greenwich, London, UK in 2004; Post Graduate Diploma and Bachelor of Science in Architecture from KNUST in 2000 and 2002 respectively. Professor Duah started his academic career when he was appointed a Tutor in Building Studies at Barnfield College in Luton, in the United Kingdom in January 2006. He was later appointed Lecturer in September 2006 at the Department of Architecture, KNUST. He was promoted to the rank of Senior Lecturer in 2015 following his return from study leave from 2010 to 2014, and Associate Professor in 2020. Having completed his doctoral studies 8 months ahead of time, he was appointed as a post-doctoral researcher at Michigan State in 2014. He previously served as the Dean for the International Programmes Office from January 2022 to October 2025. Since December 2023, he has been serving as the Ghanaian Director of the Confucius Institute at KNUST.Professor Duah served as a member of the Academic Board, Executive Committee and Planning and Resources Committee of KNUST from 2022-2025. He has chaired several statutory and non-statutory committees of the university and served in various roles on several committees in the university, at the national and international levels including the Board of the International Programmes Office, Senior Staff Housing Committee of the University, Search Committee for the Director of Works and Physical Development and Director of Health Services, Faculty Course Development Committee, Logistics and Organisation Sub-Committee of the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th KNUST Summer Schools, and SDG (Goal 17) – Partnership for Goals. He has served as the non-professorial rep of CABE Board (2016-2019), College Examinations officer for CABE (2019-2021) and other roles in examinations leadership at the Department, Faculty, and College for 12 years. He also served as Coordinator of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Studies at the Department from 2017 to 2021 and 2024 to 2025 respectively.With a belief in the concept of servant leadership rooted in empathy, humility, fairness in judgment and shared purpose, Professor Duah is a leader who creates space for others to rise. He has the capacity to collaborate, lead, engage and inspire people in research, industry and other fields of endeavour. He has the experience of teaching at all levels of the university and industry including Diploma, BSc, MSc, MPhil and PhD programmes. He has been serving as the Chief Examiner of the Ghana Institute of Architects since 2020, a resource person for the “Sustainability and Climate Change: Implications of Architectural Practices” module, and served on the Education and Institutions Committee of the Ghana Institute of Architects. His research capacity is evident in the output which includes over 20 publications in high impact journals since 2022. He has been involved at various leadership roles in securing grants and working to deliver outcomes attesting to his distinguished scholarly, industry, leadership and organizational capacities. He has been a reviewer for a number of high impact international journals across the world, thus, contributing to the production of knowledge. The foregoing, combined with his extensive experience and exposure to partnerships at the national/international levels, highlights his capacity to attract grants and funds for research and development activities for CABE.Understanding the important role of quality assurance in setting standards, testing and inspection, process improvement and training and development for a tertiary institution, he has developed this capacity through various roles he has played in the university, nationally and internationally. In addition to working for 12 years in various examinations capacity in the university and serving on the Academic Board and Planning and Resources Committee, he previously served as the Chair of the College Quality Assurance Committee, Faculty Course Development Committee, and member of Departmental and Faculty Accreditation Committee, Standing Committee on Examination Malpractices, Ad hoc Committee to Review and Regulate Teaching and Examinations Time Tables and Use of Classrooms Across the University, and Committee to Self-Evaluate KNUST for Institutional Accreditation.Under his leadership as Dean for the International Programmes Office, he completely transformed the office with visible and quantifiable growth in her activities spanning, partnerships, mobilities, visibility and communication, scholarships, infrastructure development, and strategic governance, resulting in recognition locally and internationally. As Ghanaian Director of the Confucius Institute at KNUST, his leadership of a multi-cultural and diverse staff has led to the setting up and tremendous growth of the institute evident in the over $500,000.00 raised for her activities, steady growth of the Chinese minor programme at KNUST, new offices for the institute, creation of 4 teaching centers in Kumasi, industry-academia collaboration, cultural activities, partnerships etc.   Working with/in industry for over 20 years, Professor Duah served as a member of the Council of the Ghana Institute of Architects for four (4) years, worked on highly impactful national and international projects, and negotiated for establishment of Confucius Institute at KNUST. Under his leadership, two China-Africa international automotive development forums have been successfully held in China and KNUST, Ghana focusing on intelligent electric vehicles. In recognition of his sterling contribution to industry and education, he was admitted into Fellowship of the Ghana Institute of Architects in 2024, joining less than 30 Fellows in Ghana.The professional and academic interests of Daniel include Afro-Green Architecture, Planning and sustainable construction materials; Inclusive Architecture; Barrierfree Communities and Smart Cities; Urban and Rural Planning for Community Development; Resilient Communities Planning and Design; Food System Architecture and Planning, and Economic Designs. As a chartered architect and distinguished project management professional, he has consulted on projects such as Ghana Smart Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Cities Programme being implemented in 10 Cities, and is Co-Principal Investigator for the TRANS-SAHARA Project: Novel WEFE Nexus-based approaches towards agroforestry management in the Greater North African Region with an estimated budget of 5,997,350.00 euros which started in 2024 and will run till 2027, and has consulted for landmark building projects across Ghana such as Headquarters project for an international organisation in Accra, Church of Pentecost East Legon Assembly Auditorium, new School of Graduate Studies Complex, and 4 story 280 bed dormitory building for Pentecost Preparatory School in Koforidua among others.