Breaking The Glass Ceiling – Ing. Dr. Abena A. Obiri-Yeboah
An enthusiastic and challenge-driven personality, Ing. Dr. Abena Agyeiwaa Obiri-Yeboah, the first female to attain a PhD in Civil Engineering, first female Senior Lecturer in the Civil Engineering Department, first female Head of the Civil Engineering Department, also the first female Vice-Dean and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology and currently the first female Director of the Planning and Quality Assurance Directorate in Kumasi Technical University is at it again. Born in the early eighties in the then Brong Ahafo Region Ing Dr. Obiri-Yeboah thinks, beyond the sky is rather the limit.
A full-blooded Ashanti with roots in Nsuta-Kwamang and Kumawu-Pepease, Ing. Dr. Abena Agyeiwaa had her early education at State Experimental Basic School in Kumasi and continued at the prestigious Wesley Girls High School, in Cape Coast. Having graduated with excellent grades, she was admitted to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to read Civil Engineering where she developed her passion for Transport-related engineering, a dream which finally propelled her to pursue her Masters’ thesis in Transport engineering and her PhD also in the same field.
Having worked with Kumasi Technical University since the year 2008, she has been very instrumental in the development of many policies of the University including the Matriculation Guide, Congregation Guide, VC’s Report format, drafting of the Promotion Document for Senior Staff among others.
Ing. Dr. Abena Agyeiwaa is a member of Ghana Science Association (GSA) and a member Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE) where she has recently been promoted to the rank of Senior Professional Engineer (SPE). She is also a member of Ghana Transportation Professionals Forum (GTPF) and a friend of some committees of the Transportation Research Board.
One major passion of the astute female engineer is to mentor young engineering students and graduates which has led to her appointment as a mentor for the Global Talent Mentoring group. As an active member of the Women’s wing of the Ghana Institution of Engineering, she also mentors young female engineers in partnership with the Millennium Development Authority. Her passion for youth development is very evident in her numerous other mentoring commitments, including that of the old students of Civil Engineering Association class of 2003 at KNUST, the Old Girls of Wesley Girls High School and other mentoring sessions.
Ing. Dr. Abena A. Obiri-Yeboah has close to 30 publications to her credit with a diverse interest in traffic engineering operations and traffic congestion analysis. She has also researched into the menace and nuisance of the two and three-wheelers as well as the issue of red-light-running at signalized intersections.
One remarkable achievement has been her rise through the ranks to the top. She started as a Head of Department to a Vice-Dean, Dean and currently a Director at KsTU. She was recently appointed to serve as a member of the newly inaugurated Board of the Ghana Welding Bureau, an entity set up to train and certify local welders to meet international standards for the oil and gas industry to beef up local content. Featured at the website of United States Embassy in Ghana during the just ended 2022 International Women’s Day where she was projected for her role in mentoring young graduates was rather encouraging to many young people.
Ing. Dr. Obiri-Yeboah is a shining example of a determined woman. A great professional, a wife and a mother of three. She thinks determination and hard work pay. Abena enjoys singing, organizing musical concerts, and experimenting with new recipes in her spare time. Her advice to all young graduates and junior colleagues is to stay focused in life. Ing. Dr. Abena Obiri-Yeboah looks completely to God for what lies ahead of her.
