NOVA Cybersecurity Prof. Highlighted in VCCS’ Inaugural ‘Take Five’ on Outstanding Faculty Members

Chair of NOVA’s Cybersecurity program, Professor Kwabena Konadu, affectionately known as Professor KK, was highlighted by the Virginia Community College System yesterday as the first VCCS faculty member in their ‘Take Five’ series. The objective for the series is to shine a light on those who are innovating while educating and, in the process, taking classroom instruction and student engagement to a whole new level through answering five questions.

The Q&A by VCCS Communications Staffmember Craig Butterworth chronicles Konadu’s background, his connection with students, his successes, methodology of teaching, hobbies and how the adjustment to remote learning is going.

Konadu who immigrated to the U.S. from Ghana at the age of 14 initially did not consider becoming a professor. He actually had dreams of becoming a professional soccer player.

Konadu started his career as a systems engineer at a variety of different companies and inserts his industry experience into his teaching methods. He is CISSP, CASP, CEI and CEH certified, and holds a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science from George Mason University in Telecommunication Networks. He also has a degree in Physics from Washington College. Additionally, he was a part of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and inducted into the National Society of Black Engineers during his years of study. Before joining NOVA, Konadu was an adjunct professor at George Washington University. His 20 years of professional experience is a great advantage to educating students in ‘real-world’ activities.

In his early days of teaching as an adjunct at NOVA, Konadu was still working in the private sector. His students approached him several times to consider teaching full-time so they could take more classes with him. He could not resist his “burning desire to work with students, and he made the switch because he felt teaching was his calling and not his profession. Konadu now teaches a variety of courses in information technology< cybersecurity, computer forensics and cloud computing at NOVA’s Woodbridge Campus.

In highlighting the challenges his current students face with remote learning, in the VCCS interview, he expressed how he found cloud solutions to help students who did not have a reliable computer or internet connection. He was able to use cloud resources to help resolve their problems (thanks to Amazon and VA cyber range). He took advantage of technology to provide visual and practical learning experiences.

Click Here to read the full article on VCCS’ website.