Staff profile

Dr Caleb Debrah


Lecturer in Quantity Surveying and Construction Management

Caleb Debrah stands in front of greenery in a suit and tie

Subject

Civil Engineering and Construction Management

Academic unit

College of Science and Engineering

Department

School of Engineering and Built Environment

ORCiD ID

0000-0002-2027-1567

Email

c.debrah@derby.ac.uk

About

I am a Lecturer in the School of Engineering and Built Environment at the University of Derby. I earned my PhD degree from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) in 2024 and my MSc and BSc degrees (First Class Honours) from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in 2021 and 2018, respectively. Before joining the University of Derby, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at PolyU. I have also worked as a Research Associate and Graduate Teaching Assistant at PolyU and KNUST, respectively. I was also an Associate Faculty at Royal Roads University, Canada.

I have published over 40 papers in leading international peer-reviewed journals, conferences, and books. My papers have been rated as highly cited by the Web of Science. My research has been supported by several internal and external competitive grants. One of my conference papers was adjudged as the overall best paper at the 47th Australasian Universities Building Education Association (AUBEA2024) conference held in Melbourne, Australia.

Additionally, I have several professional experiences working as a Quantity Surveyor, Project Manager and Project Consultant in Hong Kong and Ghana. I am also a Project Management Professional (PMP) and an International Finance Corporation Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (IFC EDGE) Expert.

Teaching responsibilities

Professional interests

To use acquired skills, experience, and knowledge in Construction Project Management and related disciplines to help solve societal problems through collaboration with professionals and institutions in academia and industry.

Research interests

My primary research interests include:

Membership of professional bodies

Qualifications

Recent conferences

  1. Asare, K. A., Liu, R., Anumba, C. J., Debrah, C., and Ghansah, F. A. (2025, December). Unlocking Built Environment Digital Twin Interoperability with Data Fabrics. In Proceedings of Smart and Sustainable Built Environment Conference Series (pp. 208-217).
  2. Amudjie, J., Chan, A. P., Darko, A., and Debrah, C. (2025, November). Building Information Modelling and Circular Economy Integration: Pitfalls in CircularBIM Implementation. 48th Australasian Universities Building Education Association (AUBEA2025) conference, 26-28 November 2025, Canberra, Australia
  3. Debrah, C., Chan, A.P.C., Darko, A., Akowuah, E., Amudjie, J., Asare, K.A.B., and Ghansah, F.A. (2025, May). A bibliometric-systematic analysis of post-occupancy evaluation of green building using Bibliometrix R-tool. CIB Conferences: 1(22), 19-23 May 2025, Purdue University, USA. 
  4. Ghansah, F.A., Udeaja, C., Darko, A., Lu, W., Agyekum-Mensah, G., Antwi-Afari, P., Twum-Ampofo, S., Ababio, B.A., and Debrah, C. (2025, May). Prioritising Critical Barriers to Digital Twins Implementation for Sustainable Smart Facility Management in the Built Environment: A Global Study. CIB Conferences: 1(159),19-23 May 2025 Purdue University, USA, Best Paper Award.  
  5. Debrah, C., Darko, A., Chan, A.P.C., Adabre, M.A., Larbi, J.A., Antwi-Afari, P., and Kissi, E (2024, November). Strategies for the Adoption of Green Finance in Green Building: The Case of Ghana. 47th AUBEA2024 conference, 24-27 November 2024, Melbourne, Australia, Overall Best Paper Award

Experience in industry

I have worked as a Quantity Surveyor, Project Manager, or Project Consultant in the following institutions:

International experience

Prior to joining the University of Derby, I worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow, Research Associate, and Project Consultant at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University upon completing my PhD studies at the same university. I also worked as a Project Manager at the Church of Pentecost Hong Kong Limited and CoreTech Agile Limited (Ghana). I was a visiting scholar at the University of Florida, USA. Additionally, I worked in Ghana as a quantity surveyor and site engineer (intern) at Top Technocrats Limited (Ghana) and the Ejisu Municipal Assembly (Ghana).

I have also presented at conferences in Europe, the USA, Australia, and Africa, with multiple best paper awards.

Recent collaborations include work with colleagues in the UK, USA, Hong Kong, Australia, Ghana, Nigeria, New Zealand, Dubai, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.

I was a PhD visiting scholar at the University of Florida in 2023.

Additional interests and activities

Recent publications

My primary research interests encompass green building finance, net-zero construction, and artificial intelligence in construction. Below are some of my recent peer-reviewed articles. For the full list of my publications, you may visit my Google Scholar page.

  1. Adabre, M. A., Chan, A. P., Darko, A., Edwards, D. J., Hosseini, M. R., and Debrah, C. (2026). Circular economy adoption in Hong Kong transitional housing: a multi-theoretical framework for institutional transformation. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 1-34.  
  2. Debrah, C., Chan, A. P. C., Darko, A., Akowuah, E., Amudjie, J., Asare, K. A., and Ghansah, F. A. (2025). A bibliometrix-based scientometric-systematic analysis and visualization of the global outlook on post-occupancy evaluation of green building. Building Research & Information, 1-17.  
  3. Seidu, S., Chan, D. W., and Debrah, C. (2025). A novel climate resilience implementation model for the construction industry: An international perspective. Building and Environment, 274, 112793.  
  4. Amudjie, J., Chan, A. P., Darko, A., Debrah, C., and Agyekum, K. (2025). CircularBIM: Future needs at the convergence of building information modelling and the circular economy. Automation in Construction, 176, 106250. 
  5. Adabre, M. A., Chan, A. P., Darko, A., Yang, Y., and Debrah, C. (2025). Institutional drivers for circular economy implementation in transitional housing: The case of Hong Kong. Cities, 164, 106067.  
  6. Debrah, C., Chan, A.P.C., Darko, A., Ries R.J., Ohene, E. and Tetteh, M.O. (2024). Driving factors for the adoption of green finance in green building for sustainable development in developing countries: The case of Ghana. Sustainable Development.  
  7. Debrah, C., Darko, A., and Chan, A.P.C. (2023). A bibliometric-qualitative literature review of green finance gap and future research directions, Climate and Development, 15(5), 432-455. Highly Cited Paper
  8. Debrah, C., Chan, A.P.C., and Darko, A. (2022). Artificial intelligence in green building. Automation in Construction, 137, 104192. Highly Cited Paper.
  9. Debrah, C., Chan, A.P.C., and Darko, A. (2022). Green finance gap in green buildings: A scoping review and future research needs, Building and Environment, 207, 108443.  
  10. Ahmed, H., Edwards, D.J., Lai, J.H.K., Roberts, C., Debrah, C., Owusu-Manu, D.-G., and Thwala, W.D. (2021). Post Occupancy Evaluation of School Refurbishment Projects: Multiple Case Study in the UK. Buildings, 11(4), 169. Highly Cited Paper