Prof. Thiaw currently directs the Unité de Recherche en Ingénierie culturelle et en Anthropologie at IFAN-Université Cheikh A. Diop – which was set up by the government specifically to develop humanities and social science research that can assist Senegal with meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and embedding cultural (and historical) perspectives into Senegal’s development planning and policies more generally. He has since led further archaeological research projects on the archaeology and legacies of enslavement in Senegal, often in a development archaeology context as part of projects runs by Nexus – a major environmental consultancy firm and in collaboration with Dr Gerry Wait. 

He served as President of the PanAfrican Archaeological Association (PAA), and hosted the first ever joint conference between the PAA and the Society of Africanist Archaeologists (SAfA) in Dakar in 2010.