Head of the Graduate School of Business

I joined the University of Bedfordshire in 2013. During these eleven years I have taken a variety of positions including Portfolio Leader for the Undergraduate General Business Portfolio, Portfolio Leader for the Specialist Masters Suite, Faculty Postgraduate Coordinator, and more recently as the Acting Head of Department of Strategy and Management. Currently, I am the Head of the Graduate School of Business and I manage a highly distributed department that runs courses in Luton and numerous international partner sites.

I have experience teaching a diversity of units at a variety of HE levels. I have taught units in Strategy, Research Methods, and International Business and I have supervised at Undergraduate, MSc and PhD Level.

I am an internationally-minded educator with extensive exposure to three cultures, working environments, and academic traditions (British, Greek, and Japanese) with an interdisciplinary background and disposition (education in Biology, Politics and Business). My disciplinary focus is on qualitative research methods as well as leadership and strategy. I teach mostly on these two broad areas and I have experimented extensively using gamified learning systems in the classroom to enhance students’ engagement.

My current activities include: a) extensive and applied research in pedagogies of learning and teaching with an emphasis on authentic assessments and a focus on developing b) enterprise engagement activities throughout the school as a means to provide students with a career-powered education.

Other References

• Research Gate Profile
• Linkedin Profile
• Google Scholar Profile

Qualifications

• PgCert Higher Education - University of Greenwich
• PhD in Organisational Studies – Manchester Metropolitan University
• MRes – Manchester Metropolitan University
• MBA – International University of Japan
• MSc in Technology and Innovation Management – University of Sussex
• BSc in Biology – University of Sussex

Teaching Expertise

• Research Methods
• Innovation Management
• Strategy
• Social Media Marketing

Research Interests

• Management Education
• Authentic Assessments
• Research Methodology
• EDI in the curriculum

Projects

• Going Global Partnerships, British Council, Co-Investigator, UK, November 2023 – September 2024; £22,000: A Career Roadmap for Women’s Leadership in Higher Education in Ukraine
• Imagination Lab Foundation, Principal Investigator, Switzerland, September 2023- August 2024; £18,000: Comparing single and multi-modal training on EDI
• Chartered ABS Award, CABS, Co-Investigator, UK, February 2019 – July 2020; £9.700 Embedding quality, diversity and inclusion in the business school teaching, learning and curriculum
• Catalyst Fund, HEFCE, Principal Investigator, UK, November 2016 (start) – April 2018; £32,000: Gamification Research Project (5 Academics from 2 Universities plus 3 Research Assistants): Gamified Learning Systems

Publications

• Schwabenland, C, Kofinas, AK, “On ducks, elephants and sharks: Using LEGO® Serious Play® to surface the ‘hidden curriculum’ of equality, diversity and inclusion”, Management Learning, 2023, 54/3, 318-337
• Kofinas, AK, Tsay, C; “In Favour of Large Classes: A Social Networks Account”, Journal of Management Education, 2021, 45/5, 760-785
• Win, S, Kofinas, AK; “A historical institutionalist perspective on the persistence of state controls during financial sector reforms: the insightful case of Myanmar”, Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, 2020, 11/1, 94-121
• Tsay, C, Kofinas, AK, Trivedi, S, Yang, Y; “Overcoming the Novelty Effect in Online Gamified Learning Systems: An Empirical Evaluation of Learner Engagement and Performance”, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 2019, 36/2 128-146
• Win, S, Kofinas, AK; “Reflecting and Integrating the Contextual Influences of Ambiguities and Institutional Power in Organisational Research Design: A Case of Myanmar”, Management and Organization Review, 2019, 15/2, 341-370
• Tsay, C, Kofinas, AK, & Luo, J. "Enhancing student learning experience with technology-mediated gamification: An empirical study", Computers & Education, 2018, 121, 1-17
• Williams, S, Kofinas, AK, Minnett-Smith C; “Developing live Projects as part of an assessment regime within a dispersed campus model”, Journal of Pedagogic Development, 8/2, July 2018
• Kofinas, AK; “Managing the sublime aesthetic when communicating an assessment regime: Burke’s pendulum”, Management Learning, 2018, 49/2, 204-221
• Hussain, A, Kofinas, AK, Win, S; "Intention to Purchase Counterfeit Luxury Products: A Comparative Study between Pakistani and British Consumers", Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 2017, 29/5, 331-346
• Kofinas, AK; “Gamification of Research Methods: An Exploratory Case”, Journal of Pedagogical Development, 5/4, November 2016
• MacPherson, A; Kofinas, AK, Jones O & Thorpe R; “Making Sense of Mediated Learning”, Management Learning, 41/3, 2010, 303-323
• Saur-Amaral, I & Kofinas, AK, “Multi-disciplinary Collaborations in Pharmaceutical Innovation: Two case-studies Comparison”, Business Chemistry, 2010, 7/3
• Kofinas, AK & Saur-Amaral, I; "25 years of Knowledge Creation Processes in Pharmaceutical Industry: Contemporary Trends", Comportamento Organizacional e Gestão (Organizational Behaviour and Management), Vol. 14/2, 2008
• Schwabenland, C, Kofinas, AK, “Using Lego Serious Play to surface anxieties about embedding equality, diversity and inclusion in business schools’ curricula”, Anderson, L, Black, K, Chaffer, C, Śliwa, M, Webb, J, (Eds) BAM Compendium of Knowledge on Inclusive Learning and Teaching Practice in Business Schools, Edward Elgar, 2024
• Kofinas, AK, Win, S, “Reflections on the Ontological Mythologies of Creativity”, Dörfler, V, Stierand, M, (Eds) Handbook of Research Methods on Creativity, Edward Elgar, 2020
• Henderson, B, Kofinas, A, Clements, A, & Webb, Melanie; “Wardopoly: Game-based Experiential Learning in Nurse Education”, James, A, Nerantzi, C, (Eds.) The Power of Play, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019
• Kofinas, AK, Al-Shawakbek, A & Lim, A; “Critical Success Factors of Using Social Media as a Learning Tool in Higher Education” In Benson, V., Saridakis, G. & Tuninga R. (Eds.) Analysing the Strategic Role of Social Networking in Firm Growth and Productivity, IGI Global, 2016
• Kofinas, AK; “IT-enabled Innovation in the Multinational Company” In Salazar, A. and Sawyer, S. (Eds.) Handbook of Information Technology in Organizations and Electronic Markets, World Scientific Publishing, 2006

Contact Details

E: alexander.kofinas@beds.ac.uk