Dr. Dennis Kamaanaa Sumbo
How are you related to Wits-TUB-UniLag Urban Lab?
I am an alumnus of the Wits-TUB-UniLag project and the School of Architecture and Planning, Wits University. I am part of the first PhD Cohort of the project. At our time it was called the Wits-TUB Urban Lab project. I think it is when I was concluding my PhD that the University of Lagos was annexed to the project’s name.
Where and in which field do you currently work? What has been your career path so far?
Currently, I am in an academic position. I am Lecturer at the Department of Local Governance and City Management, Faculty of Public Policy and Governance, at the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (often abbreviated as The SDD-UBIDS), Wa in the Upper West Region of Ghana. I was appointed as Assistant Lecturer in November, 2020 when I was wrapping up with my PhD work. In April, 2022, I was promoted to the current rank of Lecturer (with PhD) in the same Department after successfully graduating in December 2021.
What topics are you focusing on?
My research interest is in land tenure and urban management. I have been working on topics related to these including multiple land sales on peri-urban areas, the interface between land tenure and informal settlement planning, urban green space management specifically urban trees, and urban road safety.
How did the fellowship contribute to your career development?
The Wits-TUB-UniLag fellowship has played a life-changing role in my personal and career development. All in all, the scholarship to undergo PhD training is all important to me given the financial background of my family. The Summer schools gave me a great deal of exposure and the opportunity to experience real-life urban challenges and approaches to managing them in Berlin and Johannesburg. The visiting scholars bit enabled me to know the experiences of a PhD journey and to tap from their academic knowledge and experiences enabling me to finish my PhD early. At Wits, the Lunch-Box seminars, Graduate Seminars, PhD Symposia, Faces of the City Seminar, and the GOLD seminars were particularly important platforms for knowledge sharing that enriched my presentation, critical thinking, writing, qualitative data analysis, and other academic skills. A great supervisory team also sharpened my understanding and the essentials of academic research.
What would you recommend to new graduates starting a career in urban development?
I will like to respondent to this respect to academic career only because of my career path. It is imperative for graduates starting an academic career in Urban Development, to in the onset, choose a clear line of research among the numerous urban challenges, deeply immense in the key literature and the state-of-the-art in the chosen research path in order to offer relevant contribution to knowledge in the chosen area. This, I believe, will enable career development and growth. Also graduates need to choose the relevant academic department related to urban development from the onset so as to utilise their knowledge and skills acquired from their training in the Urban Lab.
