Founder, Owner & Group Chief Executive Officer

π€ Professor Dr Fayyaz Hussain Qureshi
Professor of Business Management | Quality Assurance, Research & Doctoral Education Leader | Business Consultant Β | Multi-Institution Founder Knowledge Edge
Short Bio
Professor Dr Fayyaz Hussain Qureshi is the Founder, Owner, and Group Chief Executive Officer of Knowledge Edge. He brings more than three decades of experience founding and leading private higher education institutions across the UK and internationally, including five founding roles at UK institutions and four research and innovation centres β the model on which several of Knowledge Edge’s own sub-brands are built. A Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA) and UKCGE Recognised Research Supervisor, he has authored or co-authored more than 70 research publications since 2020 and supervised doctoral candidates across multiple universities and countries.
πFull Profile
Professor Dr Fayyaz Hussain Qureshi founded, owns, and leads Knowledge Edge, bringing a career that spans founding private higher education institutions, building research infrastructure from scratch, and supervising doctoral research internationally β a combination that sits behind the group’s entire portfolio of sub-brands.
Institution & Centre Founder Over more than 30 years, he has been a founder member of five UK private higher education institutions β Luton Business & Computing College, EThames Graduate School, the British School of Management Sciences, Britain College, and Bedfordian Business School β rising through roles including Head of Business Department, Vice Principal, and ultimately Principal. He also founded the original research and innovation centres that have since evolved into Knowledge Edge’s own ICARE, IBRAIN, ISCOPE, and IBIIC sub-brands β the direct institutional model behind the group’s current research and innovation portfolio.
Quality Assurance & Academic Leadership He has led quality assurance, research, and innovation functions at a private higher education institutions UK, chairing committees and panels spanning strategic planning, quality assurance, research and innovation, learning and teaching, marketing and communications, and research ethics.
Doctoral Supervision & Research Leadership A UKCGE Recognised Research Supervisor, he has supervised doctoral research to completion on topics spanning AI and pharmacy practice in Wales, social media and SME growth, servant leadership in Nigerian financial services, and misinformation governance on social media, alongside a substantial and active pipeline of in-progress doctoral projects spanning AI adoption, digital transformation, consumer behaviour, and higher education systems β currently continuing this work as a part-time doctoral supervisor at the University of Greater Manchester, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and as Adjunct Research Supervisor and External Reviewer at Westford University College, UAE.
His own research centres on five themes: private higher education and student experience; AI, neuromarketing, and digital behaviour; psychology, personality, and behaviour; digital transformation and systems thinking; and healthcare and applied systems. A signature contribution within that first theme is his conceptualisation of student satisfaction, which frames it as combining the “short-term pleasure of the academic journey” with the longer-term pride of securing employment on the strength of one’s academic qualification (Qureshi et al., 2021). He has authored or co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications since 2020 across journals including Systems, Behavioral Sciences, Education Sciences, and the International Journal of Private Higher Education β a journal he founded and serves as Editor-in-Chief of. He has peer-reviewed well over 120 manuscripts for journals published by MDPI, Frontiers, Springer Nature, and Wiley.
Editorial Responsibilities He is founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Private Higher Education (since 2022) and currently serves as Guest Editor of an Administrative Sciences (MDPI) Special Issue, “Artificial Intelligence, Digital Transformation, and Organizational Performance: Emerging Trends in Management and Evaluation” (submissions open through 31 December 2026). The Special Issue examines how AI and digital transformation are reshaping organisational decision-making and performance measurement, inviting contributions on generative and predictive AI’s impact on organisational agility, frameworks for measuring digital transformation maturity, AI’s role in human capital and performance management, and the governance and ethical challenges of algorithmic management. He also serves as a Springer Nature Reviewing Editor, sits on the editorial boards of Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology and the African Journal of Pedagogy and Curriculum, and is an Editor at the International Journal of Strategy and Organisational Learning.
Recognition His work has been recognised with the Independent Higher Education (IHE) Rising Star Award of the Year (2023) and the Award of Distinguished Scholar from the European Journal of Scientific Research (2021), and his research has included an Editor’s Choice Article at Informatics (MDPI) and a Highly Cited Paper on hospital information systems adoption.
π¬ Areas of Expertise
Institutional Founding & Leadership Founding and leading private higher education institutions Β· quality assurance and academic governance Β· research and Business innovation and incubation Β centre development
Doctoral Supervision & Research Leadership UKCGE Recognised Research Supervisor Β· doctoral and PGR supervision across multiple UK and international universities Β· research strategy and funding
Research Themes Private higher education & student experience Β· AI, neuromarketing & digital behaviour Β· psychology, personality & behaviour Β· digital transformation & systems thinking Β· healthcare & applied systems
Editorial & Publishing Leadership Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Private Higher Education Β· Guest Editor, Administrative Sciences (MDPI) Special Issue on AI, digital transformation, and organisational performanceΒ· Editor XManagement Journal (MDPI) Springer Nature Reviewing Editor Β· editorial board service across MDPI and other international journals Β· peer review across 100+ manuscripts internationally.
Editorial Responsibilities
| Role | Journal / Publisher | Since |
| Editor-in-Chief | International Journal of Private Higher Education (IJPHE) | 2022 |
| Guest Editor, Special Issue: “Artificial Intelligence, Digital Transformation, and Organizational Performance” | Administrative Sciences (MDPI) | 2026 (open for submissions through 31 December 2026) |
| Editor XManagement
Reviewing Editor |
MDPI new journal)
Springer Nature |
August 2026
2026 |
| Editorial Board Member | Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology | 2025 |
| Editorial Board Member | African Journal of Pedagogy and Curriculum (AJOPAC) | 2025 |
| Editor | International Journal of Strategy and Organisational Learning (IJSOL) | 2024 |
Career Highlights
| Role | Institution | Years |
| Founder, Owner & Group Chief Executive Officer | Knowledge Edge | (current) |
| Provost/Vice President & Co-Founder | University of Artificial Intelligence (UAIES), Pakistan | 2026β |
| Adjunct Research Supervisor & External Reviewer | Westford University College, UAE | 2026β |
| Doctoral Supervisor (Part Time) | University of Greater Manchester, UK | 2025β |
| Adjunct Professor of Business and Management | ISBM University (India), London | 2025β |
| PGR (Doctoral) Supervisor / Director of Studies (Part Time) | University of Wales Trinity Saint David, UK | 2022β |
| Founder & Head, Research and Innovation Centre (precursor to IBIIC) | Private UK business school | 2023β2025 |
| Head of Research and Innovation | Private UK business school | 2021β2025 |
| Director of Quality Assurance and Research | Private UK business school | 2020β2021 |
| Principal | Bedfordian Business School, Luton | 2010β2018 |
| MBA Dissertation Supervisor | University of Sunderland London Campus | 2008β2011 |
| Vice Principal | British School of Management Sciences, Ilford | 2008β2009 |
| Senior Lecturer | EThames Graduate School, Ilford | 2005β2008 |
| Head of Business Department | Luton Business & Computing College | 2003β2005 |
| Business Lecturer | Luton Business & Computing College |
Founder of Institutions & Research Centres
| Name | Type |
| Luton Business & Computing College (LBCC) | Founder member, private HE institution |
| EThames Graduate School (ETGS) | Founder member, private HE institution |
| British School of Management Sciences (BSMS) | Founder member, private HE institution |
| Britain College (BC) | Founder member, private HE institution |
| Bedfordian Business School (BBS) | Founder member, private HE institution |
| Founder, research centre β origin of Knowledge Edge’s ICARE | |
| IBRAIN (Business Research And Innovation Network) | Founder, research centre β origin of Knowledge Edge’s IBRAIN |
| ISCOPE (Staff Centre of Professional Excellence) | Founder, research centre β origin of Knowledge Edge’s ISCOPE |
| IBIIC (Business Innovation and Incubation Centre) | Founder, research centre β origin of Knowledge Edge’s IBIIC |
| Tourism Research Institute of Pakistan (TRIP) | Founder, research institute |
| Global Artificial Intelligence Network (GAIN) | Founder, research network |
| IHEART International Higher Education Accreditation, Regulation & Transformation | Founder at Knowledge Edge |
| IEDGE International Excellence in Doctoral & Graduate Education | Founder at Knowledge Edge |
| IDEAS International Doctoral Education, Admissions & Supervision | Founder at Knowledge Edge |
| ISCORE International Scholars’ Centre Of Research Excellence | Founder at Knowledge Edge |
Qualifications & Memberships
Holds qualifications spanning the sciences, humanities, and business β including a Professional Doctorate in Marketing, dual MBAs (Marketing and Finance), an MSc in Internet Technologies, an MA in English Literature, BSc (botany Zoology and Chemistry), BA (Economic and Journalism) BA (Languages, English and Punjabi) a postgraduate certificate in supervision, Certificate in Teaching Higher Education, The Derek BOK Center for Teaching and Learning, Havard, alongside professional recognitions including Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA), Fellowship of the Institute of Leadership (FIoL), Fellowship of the Institute of Analytics (FIoA), Associate membership of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (ACIM), and Certified Management and Business Educator (CMBE) status with the Chartered Association of Business Schools.
π Recognition
| Award | Year |
| Independent Higher Education (IHE) Rising Star Award of the Year | 2023 |
| Award of Distinguished Scholar, European Journal of Scientific Research | 2021 |
| Editor’s Choice Article, Informatics (MDPI) β political campaign branding research | 2025 |
| Highly Cited Paper, Systems (MDPI) β hospital information systems adoption | 2024β25 |
| Best Worker of the Year, Amnesty International Pakistan | 1997 |
Volunteering & Community Service
Earlier in his career, he served as Secretary of Information & Finance for Amnesty International, Pakistan (1996β1999), during which he was recognised as Best Worker of the Year (1997). He also served as Senior Vice President of the Multipurpose Welfare Trust, Pakistan (1994β1999).
Further Reading
Full publication record and academic profile available via ORCID and his academic profile site.
π¬ Contact / Enquire
Ready to talk about doctoral admissions, supervision, or researcher development? Contact the Knowledge Edge team.
