The story of UK-based Professor, Joseph Kwadwo Danquah

The road to becoming a fully-fledged academic can be long, tough, and filled with disillusion, the rank of Assistant Professorship, the third-highest in the teaching profession has been conferred on a United Kingdom-based Ghanaian lecturer at the University of Bradford. This is a prestigious university and was awarded Times Higher Education Business School of the Year 2021.

From Asankrangwa in the Western Region of Ghana, Professor Joseph Kwadwo Danquah, who now enjoys the laurels of his meritorious contributions to the success of the University, lectures both undergraduate and postgraduate students in Human Resource and Strategic Management and Development at the School of Management, Law, and Social Sciences of the University of Bradford, his alma mater.

The long haul to this academic plateau commenced at Asankrangwa, his ancestry, where he had his basic and senior high education successively at the All Saint Academy, and the Asankrangwa Senior High School, respectively.

Having made the grade for tertiary education, he gained admission to his premier tertiary institution, the Veterinary College, Pong, Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana, where he graduated with a Certificate in Animal Health and Production in 2003.

In 2007, he completed a 4-year degree program at the University for Development Studies (UDS), Nyankpala Campus, Ghana, with the award of Bachelor of Science, (Hons) in Agricultural Technology. His thesis was voted the best dissertation in Ghana and awarded the Sunkwa Mills Award in 2007.

Prof Joseph Kwadwo Danquah, as he was known then, advanced up the academic ladder to the University of Bradford, United Kingdom, in 2010. Here, he studied Project Management with a specialisation in Capacity Development. After one year of demonstrable academic prowess, he was awarded a Master of Science (MSc) degree.

With his proven astuteness and tenacity of purpose to reach for the sky in the field of academia, he was offered another admission in 2012, at the Bradford University to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Human Resource Development. After his successful completion of the thesis, “Human Resource Development: An assessment of capacity development initiative of World Bank projects in Ghana,” in 2017, he was awarded a doctorate degree.

Within a relatively short period of time, the strides Professor Joseph Kwadwo Danquah has made in the field of academics are impressive and remarkable. Amongst the several achievements he has chalked up since the attainment of his doctorate in 2017, has been the supervision and co-supervision of several Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree students. He has also examined a number of PhD viva voce, and a BDA viva voce. He currently supports both postgraduate and undergraduate students at Central Lancaster University and Ulster University.

Prof Danquah is a consummate academic and a distinguished researcher par excellence. He has published extensively in high-impact journals and continues to contribute to the development of pedagogy in diverse ways in the epistemic community. Prof Danquah’s research interest covers Strategic Human Resource Managerial Effectiveness, Business Strategy, Leadership, SMEs Development, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Small Business Development. Professor Joseph Kwadwo Danquah, has published in ABS and CABS ranked journals.

Currently, Professor Joseph Kwadwo Danquah is an Academic Member of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD), and a Fellow of Higher Education Academy, both in the United Kingdom.