23 Young Geospatial Professionals to Watch in 2023 – 19 of 23
Name: Kwabena Obeng Asiama
Company: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
Current position: Lecturer
Age: 32
Education: Ph.D and MSc, University of Twente; BS , Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
During his compulsory national service in Ghana, Asiama worked with a mining company where he developed his technical skills in the fields of large-scale land acquisition and property valuation in areas without land markets for compensation. This spurred his interest in the valuation of unregistered lands and land tenure insecurity. The nature of his role helped him develop skills for negotiating and team-building.
Asiama started looking at using geospatial technologies to meet the societal problems of Sub-Saharan Africa’s customary lands, then undertook his masters and doctorate studies at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. Combining his interests in land valuation and land tenure security, he received the FIG Survey Review prize in 2018 for his work on valuation of customary lands. He then joined the faculty of the Geodetic Institute of Leibniz University Hannover, Germany, as an assistant professor and leader of the Working Group on Land and Real Estate Management.
After nine years in Europe, Asiama returned to Ghana, to join the faculty of KNUST in 2022. He is also a junior partner in the valuation and estate surveying firm, Centre for Property Investment. His work covers valuation of residential properties, valuation for compensation, estate agency services, and consultancy services for international bodies including the United Nations.
Asiama is a member of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS) and the German Society for Geodesy, Geoinformation, and Land Management. He is the outgoing chair of the FIG Young Surveyors Network, and the incoming chair of the FIG Commission 8 on Spatial Planning and Development. Asiama volunteers his time to help young surveyors across the globe to channel their skills and expertise toward the future of the profession by connecting people through networking and mentoring.