Acting Head of Department of Strategy and Management

I joined the University of Bedfordshire in 2013. During these seven years I have taken a variety of positions including Portfolio Leader for the Undergraduate General Business Portfolio, Portfolio Leader for the Specialist Masters Suite, and more recently as Faculty Postgraduate Coordinator.

I am currently Acting Head of Department of Strategy and Management and I manage a highly distributed department that runs courses in five campus sites and 10+ 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 current activities include: a) extensive and applied research in pedagogies of learning and teaching with an emphasis on game-based learning and students’ narratives of their learning journeys and b) enterprise engagement and consulting activities with a range of SMEs via KTPs, Innovation Bridges, and ICT escalator grants.

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.

Other References

• ResearchGate profile
• The Employment Game
• HEFCE Gamification project

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

• Leadership and Strategy
• Authentic, Aesthetic Learning and Teaching in Higher Education
• Management Education

Research Projects

• Catalyst Fund, HEFCE, UK, November 2016 (start) – April 2018 (end); £32,000
  • Gamification Research Project (5 Academics, 2 Universities, 3 Research Assistants)
  • Research on Cross-Year Business Projects (3 Academics, 2 Universities, 3 Research Assistants)
  • Research on Narratives of Assessment and Learning
• UoB Student Experience Grant; The University of Bedfordshire, 2016; £10,000
• UoB Student Experience Grant; The University of Bedfordshire, 2013; £32,000

External Roles

• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• Track Co-chair, Knowledge and Learning SIG; BAM Conference; 2016-19
• Member of the British Academy of Management
• Member of the Society for Research into Higher Education
• External Examiner - Liverpool John Moores University 2011-16

Enterprise Funding

• Knowledge Transfer Partnership, Drax Solutions; December 2016; £109,752
• Involvement in a range of ICT and Innovation Bridge projects with SMEs

Publications

Journal Publications

• 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
• Win, S, Kofinas, AK; “'Recognising Ambiguities and Institutional Power in Emerging Markets: Integration of Reflective Learning within an Organisational Research Design in Myanmar”, Management and Organization Review, 15 (2), 2019
• 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
• Tsay, C, Kofinas, AK "Enhancing student learning experience with technology-mediated gamification: An empirical study", Computers & Education, 2018
• Kofinas, AK; “Managing the sublime aesthetic when communicating an assessment regime: Burke’s pendulum”, Management Learning, 2017
• 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, (Accepted), 2017
• 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), July 2010
• Saur-Amaral, I & Kofinas, AK, “Multi-disciplinary Collaborations in Pharmaceutical Innovation: Two case-studies Comparison”, Business Chemistry, 7 (3), September 2010
• 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

Book Chapters

• 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, 2017 (Accepted)
• 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

International Conference Publications

• Ahmed, S, Bernadette, H, Clements, A, Kofinas, AK; “Push and Pull Strategies of Learning in Higher Education; Managing students’ learning Journeys via Liminal Spaces”, BAM Conference, Bristol, United Kingdom, 4-6 September, 2018
• Kofinas, AK, Clements, A, Barber, S, “Winds of turbulence crashing on green stools: Reflections on organisational change management”, BAM Conference, Bristol, United Kingdom, 4-6 September, 2018
• Tsay, C, Kofinas, AK; "Novelty Effect and Student Engagement in a Technology-mediated Gamified Learning System", Academy of Management Conference 2018, Chicago, August, 2018
• Kofinas, AK, Romanova, A, Tsay, C, & Ahmed, S; “Coping Cycle and its importance when designing an Assessment: Reflections on the Learning Process”, Learning, Teaching & Student Experience 7^th Annual Conference, Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS), Glasgow, United Kingdom, 24-25 April, 2018
• Ahmed, S, Bernadette, H, Clements, A, Kofinas, AK; “Push and Pull: An Approach to directing Learning in Higher Education”, Learning, Teaching & Student Experience 7^th Annual Conference, Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS), Glasgow, United Kingdom, 24-25 April, 2018
• Tsay, C, Kofinas, AK; "Student Engagement and the Novelty Effect in a Technology-mediated Gamified Course", Society for Research into Higher Education Conference 2017, Celtic Manor, Newport, December, 2017
• Minett-Smith, C, Kofinas, AK; “Dare to Change: Realizing the Opportunities of Postgraduate Curriculum Development”, Society for Research into Higher Education Conference 2016, Celtic Manor, Newport, December, 2017
• Abdul Hami, HB, Kofinas, AK, McGowan, CT; “A Critical Evaluation of the Factors that Influence Millennials in Identifying Entrepreneurial Opportunity in Malaysia”, ISBE Conference, Belfast, UK, 8-9 November, 2017
• Abdul Hami, HB, Kofinas, AK, McGowan, CT; “Millennial Generation Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Literature Review”, BAM Conference, Warwick, United Kingdom, 05-07 September, 2017
• Sultana, S, Kofinas, AK, Massaro, MR; “Visual Communications in Social Media: A Systematic Review”, BAM Conference, Warwick, United Kingdom, 05-07 September, 2017
• Ahmed, S, Henderson, B, Kofinas, AK; “Changes in Business Students’ Feelings during a Unit-long Gamification Study”, BAM Conference, Warwick, United Kingdom, 05-07 September, 2017
• Tsay, C, Kofinas, AK; “Unpacking “Engagement” in a Technology-mediated Gamified Course”,  European Conference on Games-Based Learning, Graz, Austria, 5-6 October, 2017
• Henderson, B, Webb, M, Kofinas AK; “Nurse Clinical Leadership Simulation Board Game”, European Conference on Games-Based Learning, Graz, Austria, 5-6 October, 2017
• Kofinas, AK, Tsay, C, & Ahmed, S; “Terror Management & Gamification in Higher Education Assessment”, Learning, Teaching & Student Experience 6^th Annual Conference, Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS), Bristol, United Kingdom, 25-26 April, 2017
• Kofinas, AK, Lewis, N; “Dis-engaging with Gamification in Higher Education”, Society for Research into Higher Education Conference 2016, Celtic Manor, Newport, December, 2016
• Kofinas, AK; “Designing a Gamified Assessment Regime: A Higher Education Case Study”, European Conference on Games-Based Learning, Paisley, Scotland, 6-7 October, 2016
• Halasz M., Komanapalli G., Kofinas AK; “Measuring the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction within the hospitality industry: A case study”, OR58Annual Conference. Portsmouth, September 2016
• Koleva, P, Kofinas, AK; “The Soul of Grounded Theory”, BAM Conference, Newcastle, United Kingdom, 06-08 September, 2016
• Asikpo, PE, Kofinas, AK, & Philpott E; “Dynamic Stakeholder Management in the Project Life Cycle – An Empirical Report”, BAM Conference, Newcastle, United Kingdom, 06-08 September, 2016
• Kofinas, AK; “Terror Management & Gamification in Higher Education Assessment”, Learning, Teaching & Student Experience 5^th Annual Conference, Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS), Birmingham, United Kingdom, 26-27 April, 2016
• Kofinas, AK, “Gamification of Business Teaching in a Higher Education Context: An Exploratory Case Study”, International Gamification for Business Conference, Birmingham, 21-22 September 2015
• Hussain, A. & Kofinas, AK, “A Structured Literature Review on Impulse Buying: online jitters and offline jeepers”, BAM Conference, Portsmouth, 8-10 September 2015

Webinars and Weblogs

• Kofinas, AK, 2017. “Cross-year student-led teams; Playful team formation”, Chartered Association of Business Schools Teaching and Learning Blog 22nd of March 2017
• Kofinas, AK, 2016. “In favour of a gamified, narrative-based assessment regime”, Chartered Association of Business Schools Teaching and Learning Blog 6th of June 2016
• Kofinas, AK, 2016. “Applying Gamification in Higher Education; A Research Skills Case Study”, University of Bedfordshire Webinar 6th of May 2016

Contact Details

T: +44 (0)1234 793198
E: alexander.kofinas@beds.ac.uk