Professor Edwards is currently rated as one of the world’s leading scientific experts in civil engineering and construction management (and was ‘rated in the top 2% of global scientists across all disciplines’ – cf. Stanford University/Elsevier) but his multidisciplinary research also spans business studies, mechanical engineering and information technology. He is a highly cited academic with over 16,500 citations in Google Scholar and is a peer referee for over 80 scientific journals. He currently holds seven Professorships worldwide at: Birmingham City University, UK; Deakin University, Australia; UNISA, Australia; KNUST, Ghana; Nelson Mandela, South Africa; a life-time Doscent at University of Oulu, Finland; and is a Distinguished Professor at University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Professor Edwards has been a regular consultant for branches of UK government including the Ministry of Defence, Health and Safety Executive, National Highways and the Home Office but also undertakes consultancy work for international governments, defence agencies (e.g. the US Pentagon) and multinational businesses (e.g. Caterpillar, Costain, JCB and Rio Tinto).

Professor Edwards is also an expert witness in criminal courts. He is a prolific scientific author (with almost 600 peer reviewed journal papers published) and his multiple Professorships reflect his international research profile. Professor Edwards has held several senior management and leadership positions ranging from Programme Leader, Director of Research Centres to Acting Associate Dean of Research (when employed in the Business School). He has also accrued a wealth of experience in module and programme development in the UK and internationally, as well as a breadth of experience in managing Trans-national Education (TNE) provisions, professional accreditation, financial management, dispute resolution and human resource management.