Our people
Researchers
Operations team
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Marie Sams, Operations Manager
Marie has worked at Coventry University since 2002. She previously worked in project management before moving into teaching as a Senior Lecturer at Coventry Business School. Marie has achieved a Masters in Management, a teaching qualification and is part of the Aurora Women in Leadership programme, as well as being trained in PRINCE2. As Operations Manager for GLEA, Marie leads all aspects of operational activity within GLEA.
Contact Marie: marie.sams@coventry.ac.uk
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Natalie Garrison, Operations Support Manager
Natalie provides administrative and operational support for GLEA. Natalie’s career at Coventry University began with a self-sought volunteer opportunity in the Disability and Welfare office in 2010, leading her to specialise in a number of university events such as graduation, enrolment and examinations. Thus providing a keen interest in the student journey and how staff can enhance the overall student experience.
Contact Natalie: natalie.garrison@coventry.ac.uk
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Mandy Ashley, Operations Administrator
Mandy joined Coventry University’s admissions team in 2003. Through this, and her experience in the Apprenticeship team in CU Coventry, Mandy has built up a wealth of knowledge in the life cycle of a student. Now working in research, Mandy undertakes varied activities involved in the smooth and efficient operations of the expanding GLEA. This includes project visits, booking travel, setting up research seminars and also supporting PhD students and colleagues within the centre.
Contact Mandy: mandy.ashley@coventry.ac.uk
Visiting Professors
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Dr Jason Arday, Visiting Professor
Dr Jason Arday is an Associate Professor in Sociology at Durham University in the Department of Sociology and the Deputy Executive Dean for People and Culture in the Faculty of Social Science and Health. He is a Visiting Research Fellow at The Ohio State University in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, an Adjunct Professor at Nelson Mandela University in the Centre for Critical Studies in Higher Education Transformation and a Trustee of the Runnymede Trust, the UK’s leading Race Equality Thinktank. Jason is also a Trustee of the British Sociological Association (BSA) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). He sits on the Centre for Labour and Social Studies (CLASS) National Advisory Panel and the NHS Race and Health Observatory Academic Reference Group.
Contact Jason: jason.arday@coventry.ac.uk
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Dr Jos Beelen, Visiting Professor
Dr. Jos Beelen is Professor of Global Learning and co-director of the Centre of Global and Inclusive Learning at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. His research interests focus on internationalisation of home curricula, particularly the roles and skills of academics in internationalisation processes, both from educational and systemic perspectives. Over the past years, he has conducted action research with academics and other stakeholders to identify obstacles and develop enablers for internationalisation of home curricula.
He has published papers, book chapters and blogs on a variety of topics within internationalisation at home with researchers from the United Kingdom, Australia, the United Kingdom, particularly from Coventry University. These publications include the role of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) within curriculum internationalisation.
For the European Association of International Education (EAIE), he was the editor of the ‘toolkit’ Implementing Internationalisation at Home (2007) and chair of the Special Interest Group (2004-2014) and subsequently the Expert Community (2014-2016) Internationalisation at Home. He is currently a member of EAIE’s publications committee as well as a certified senior EAIE-trainer. He has contributed to the EAIE Academies since 2011. He is also a reviewer for the Journal of Studies in International Education.
At The Hague University of Applied Sciences, he leads a research group that explores topics within internationalisation at home, such as physical and virtual international classroom, internationalisation in Dutch medium programmes and the continuum in internationalisation from primary to tertiary education
Jos collaborates closely with other research groups within the Centre of Expertise for Global and Inclusive Learning, such as those on Global Citizenship and on Inclusive Education.
Jos Beelen holds a bachelor’s degree in History and a master’s degree in Classical Archaeology (cum laude) from the University of Amsterdam and a PhD from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan.
Contact Jos: jos.beelen@coventry.ac.uk
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Professor Daniel Burgos, Visiting Professor
Daniel Burgos is Full Professor of Education & Communication Technologies, Vice-chancellor for Knowledge Transfer & Technology, UNESCO Chair on eLearning, and ICDE Chair in Open Educational Resources at Universidad Internacional de La Rioja. His research interests focus on educational technology and innovation from a practical approach. Daniel was founder and Executive Board member of the European association for eLearning Telearc, the European Community of eLearning TELEurope, the Spanish association for eLearning TELspain, and the Mediterranean Network for Open Education OpenMed, which works with Arab and South-European countries to produce and foster Open Education national declarations. He also leads the Spanish pilot of the only Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) project on encouraging STEM subjects in K-12 (Inspiring Science Education) with a practical implementation with over 5000 schools across the European Union.
Contact Daniel: daniel.burgos@coventry.ac.uk
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Professor Christina Hughes, Visiting Professor
Professor Christina Hughes is Founder and CEO of Women-Space which supports women’s leadership and career development. She has held executive leadership roles in three universities: Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University of Warwick; Provost at Sheffield Hallam University, and interim Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Kent. Christina has published over 15 books, has been successful in acquiring £1.6m in external grant funding and has extensive experience of leading institutional change. She was the founding co-Chair of the Gender and Education Association (GEA), is a member of the Board of Governors at Leeds Beckett University, a Trustee of Villiers Park Educational Trust and an Honorary Professor, University of Kent.
Contact Christina: christina.hughes@coventry.ac.uk
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Professor Malcolm Tight, Visiting Professor
Malcolm Tight is Professor of Higher Education at Lancaster University, having previously worked at the University of Warwick, Birkbeck College and the Open University. His current research focuses on mapping and evaluating the state of higher education research worldwide. Malcolm is Editor of the journal, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, and of two book series, International Perspectives on Higher Education Research and Theory and Method in Higher Education Research (with Jeroen Huisman). He was a member of the REF Education Sub-Panel in 2014.
Contact Malcolm: malcolm.tight@coventry.ac.uk
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Professor Paul Warmington, Visiting Professor
Professor Paul Warmington, PhD, BA, PGCE, FRSA
Paul is an internationally esteemed scholar in the sociology of education. His work is rooted in traditions of Black Atlantic thought and focuses on race, class and social justice: issues central to contemporary public debate and academia’s mission to benefit wider society. Paul began his career in further education in the late 1980s and has worked in higher education for over twenty years, at the University of Nottingham; University of Birmingham; and as a full professor at the University of Warwick and Nottingham Trent University. His roles have included Director of Research, Head of Postgraduate Research and Associate Dean for Research (Social Sciences).
Paul’s writing on Black British intellectual and educational movements has been internationally influential. His most recent publications include the co-edited four-volume collection, Critical Race Theory in Education: Major Themes (Routledge, 2018). His research on further education, student experiences, education policy, educational achievement and widening participation has been funded by major bodies, including the ESRC, British Academy and the Society for Educational Studies. His work has been covered in The Guardian, Times Education Supplement and The Voice. He recently contributed to BBC1’s landmark documentary Subnormal, on the historical scandal of the placing of Black children in ESN schools during the 1960s and 70s.
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Professor Susan Wright, Visiting Professor
Contact Professor Susan Wright: ad8858@coventry.ac.uk
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Professor David Kershaw
David Kershaw CBE, JP, MA, Hon DEd, FRSA left Secondary Modern School at fourteen with no qualifications. Since then he has had an extensive and successful career in education, notably Headteacher at Coundon Court School for 20years and after retirement he transformed a number of UK secondary schools out of their long standing Special Measures in as little as two years. His roles have included; Sport England - Board Member for five years, Elected Member, Coventry City Council for eight years and Cabinet Lead for Education for four years, as well as DfE Future Leaders Programme - Midlands Regional Director, for three years. David has continued involvement as Director of Inspire Multi-Academy Trust, Chair of Epworth Multi-Academy Trust, Chair of Whitley Abbey School and CEO of Central Academies Trust. David also has a wide range of community interests through which he contributes widely to the Civic Life of Coventry.
Contact David: david.kershaw@coventry.ac.uk
Honorary Research Fellows
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Dr. Paul M. Pulé, Honorary Research Fellow
Dr. Paul M. Pulé is an Australian social and environmental justice activist, ecopreneur and scholar. His research ponders the intersections between men, masculinities, and Earth through the lenses of Critical Studies on Men and Masculinities (CSMM), Environmental Philosophy and Feminist Care Theory, resulting in numerous popular science and academic articles as well as two books (a monograph: Ecological Masculinities: Theoretical Foundations and Practical Guidance, followed by an anthology: Men, Masculinities and Earth: Contending with the (m)Anthropocene). Paul served as Post-doctoral Researcher at Chalmers University in Gothenburg, Sweden where he internationalised and taught on these topics and created a consultancy to ecologise masculinities in grassroots community groups, corporations and international governance agencies. He has a third book and an accompanying documentary underway that reach for popular culture in exposing the masculinist aspects of our growing social and ecological crises, as they dwell in us all; offering profeminist, gender positive and environmentally caring responses to our pressing times. His current research interests aim to develop educational embodied practices and gender and environment pedagogies through Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed, Arawana Hayashi's Social Presenting Theatre. He is also theoretically eco-queering Ecological Masculinities in support of non-binary explorations of the human/nature relationship. He is delighted to be pursuing these topics as a Coventry University – Centre for Global Learning (GLEA) Honorary Research Fellow.
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Dr. Saida Affouneh
Saida Affouneh is an Associate Professor in Education, who graduated with her PhD from Huddersfield University in Emergency Education and is now working as the Dean of Faculty of Education and as Deputy President for Digitalization and eLearning. She has published many articles and books in open education, online learning and educational reforms in national and international contexts. An activist in community change through education; she is considered a powerful female leader. Having started her career as a maths teacher who inspired her students to love the subject, she was then chosen to lead a reform team in her country where she managed to prepare a national reform report which was recognised at a national level. She has worked as a consultant for many international organisations that work in Palestine to support education and also worked as a Director of the Educational Planning Department in the Ministry of Education for several years. Saida successfully established an elearning center at her university where she was assigned to develop an online national strategy for her country.
Contact Saida: saida.affouneh@coventry.ac.uk
