CIB W123 and W099 annual conference hosted by KNUST, Ghana

CIB W123 and W099 annual conference hosted by KNUST, Ghana

The CIB People in Construction (W123) and Safety, Health and Wellbeing in Construction (W099) Annual Conference was this year hosted by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) at their beautiful and verdant campus in Kumasi, Ghana.

The Local Organizing Committee was ably led by Prof Emmanuel Adinyira and delivered the biggest CIB W123/W099 and most high-tech conference to date!

A PhD Workshop was held the day before the conference formally opened, led by Dr Fred Sherratt from the University of Colorado Boulder USA and Dr Kenneth Lawani from Glasgow Caledonian University UK.  Five students at different stages of their PhD journeys presented their work and were able to receive feedback from both their peers and a panel of experts.  The discussions delivered considerable insights for everyone in attendance, be they existing PhD students, supervisors or just those thinking of undertaking a PhD journey in the future.

The conference itself covered two full days, welcoming around 150 delegates each day in person and more than 500 online, with a fantastic mixture of plenary discussions, keynote speeches and paper sessions, making it a highly stimulating and engaging event.  Excellent networking opportunities were also evident during the conference, with students and faculty able to meaningfully connect over the many different delicious refreshments and local cuisine provided throughout.

The keynote speeches were exceptional.  We were delighted to welcome recently retired Professor George Ofori who shared an overview of his exceptional career.  A legend in the research field of construction project management, Prof Ofori took us on a journey with people firmly at its heart, and which quite rightly also made the national news which you can read here!

Lifetime Achievement Award

The conference was also able to acknowledge and honor Professor John Smallwood who has been a leader within our community for many years.  Prof Smallwood’s keynote reminded us of the very real reasons why we in W099 and W123 do what we do, and why we need to continue to fight for construction worker rights across the world.  Professor Billy Hare was delighted to present John with his Lifetime Achievement Award for recognition of his significant contributions to the research communities of W099 and W123.

This was a pioneering conference that clearly demonstrated the potential for CIB to really live up to its global aspirations.  Our congratulations to the team at KNUST for delivering this landmark event in West Africa for CIB and showing the way for others to follow!

Author
Dr Fred Sherratt

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