Professor Komla, Tropical Leader and Research Professor of Education for Social Sustainability at the Cairns Institute, will deliver an Inaugural Lecture on "Universities engaging communities in research: implications for building healthy, sustainable communities" in Cairns on 17 April. Professor Komla was born and educated in Ghana and has undertaken research in rural Ghana, Indigenous Australia, and Papua New Guinea. He has had a particular interest in health in Indigenous communities.
The Cairns Institute is a component of James Cook University which has a special interest in life and development, and the role of universities, in the tropical regions of the world. James Cook has coordinated a major research effort in this area, involving universities around the world. This is reflected in Professor Komla's position as tropical Leader and Research Professor of Education for Social Sustainability.