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Dr Alexandra Sandu
(she/her)
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Teams and roles for Alexandra Sandu
Lecturer in Human Geography
Overview
Alexandra is a Lecturer in Human Geography. Her current work focuses on Urban and Regional Resilience, Land-use patterns and dynamics in post-socialist cities from Central and Eastern Europe and socio-economic inequalities across cities and regions from Europe.
Alexandra's research interests extend beyond quantitative research methodology and include expertise in Human Geography, Urban Geography, Environmental Geography, Urban Resilience, Spatial Analysis, Urban Inequalities and GIS. Her prior experience includes working as a Research Assistant within Administrative Data Research Wales where she looked into educational inequalities in Wales. She was also a Research Associate at the University of Lyon, where she contributed to a research project on the impact of globalization on cultural flows. Additionally, she worked as a Teaching Fellow at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, where she provided courses and seminars in Human Geography, Cartography and Geomatics, Environmental Geography, and GIS.
Alexandra's academic credentials also include a Ph.D. in Human Geography and Urban Planning, where she focused on identifying land-use patterns and dynamics in cities from Central and Eastern Europe before and after the fall of communism. Through this research, she developed a deep understanding of the complex social and economic forces that shape urban landscapes.
Publication
2025
- Keating, J., Knight, C., Sandu, A. and French, R. 2025. What individual, family, and school factors influence the identification of Special Educational Needs in Wales?. British Journal of Educational Psychology (10.1111/bjep.12760)
2024
- Sandu, A., Keating, J., Huxley, K. and French, R. 2024. Educational attainment dynamics in Wales: Insights through data linkage and geographically weighted regression. Presented at: International Population Data Linkage Conference, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 17 September 2024, Vol. 9. Vol. 5. Swansea University, (10.23889/ijpds.v9i5.2722)
- Coudroy de Lille, L. and Sandu, A. 2024. Europeanisation, westernisation or globalisation of the book market in Poland? Evidence from translation flows in Poland (1980-2022). Geographia Polonica 97(2), pp. 111-132. (10.7163/GPol.0271)
- Sandu, A. 2024. The post-socialist cities from Central and Eastern Europe: Between spatial growth and demographic decline. Urban Studies 61(5), pp. 821-837. (10.1177/00420980231189261)
- Rodriguez-Pose, A., Sandu, A., Taylor, C. and Hampton, J. M. 2024. Children's subjective well-being during the Coronavirus pandemic. Child Indicators Research 17, pp. 309-347. (10.1007/s12187-023-10089-z)
- Sandu, A. and Taylor, C. 2024. Digital learning technologies usage during Covid-19 lockdowns. British Educational Research Journal (10.1002/berj.4092)
2023
- Sandu, A. 2023. Exploring the urban land-use patterns and dynamics in Central and Eastern Europe. Town Planning Review 94(3), pp. 293-317. (10.3828/tpr.2022.24)
2022
- Sandu, A. and Hampton, J. M. 2022. Engagement with the Hwb virtual learning environment during Covid-19 school closures. Project Report. [Online]. ADR Wales. Available at: https://www.adruk.org/fileadmin/uploads/adruk/Documents/Data_Insights/Data_Insight_Engagement_with_the_hwb_virtual_learning_platform_August_2022.pdf
2021
- Sandu, A., Bănică, A. and Muntele, I. 2021. Urban resilience: an instrument to decode the post-socialist socio-economic and spatial transformations of cities from Central and Eastern Europe. Eastern Journal of European Studies 12(SI), pp. 170-195. (10.47743/ejes-2021-SI08)
Articles
- Keating, J., Knight, C., Sandu, A. and French, R. 2025. What individual, family, and school factors influence the identification of Special Educational Needs in Wales?. British Journal of Educational Psychology (10.1111/bjep.12760)
- Coudroy de Lille, L. and Sandu, A. 2024. Europeanisation, westernisation or globalisation of the book market in Poland? Evidence from translation flows in Poland (1980-2022). Geographia Polonica 97(2), pp. 111-132. (10.7163/GPol.0271)
- Sandu, A. 2024. The post-socialist cities from Central and Eastern Europe: Between spatial growth and demographic decline. Urban Studies 61(5), pp. 821-837. (10.1177/00420980231189261)
- Rodriguez-Pose, A., Sandu, A., Taylor, C. and Hampton, J. M. 2024. Children's subjective well-being during the Coronavirus pandemic. Child Indicators Research 17, pp. 309-347. (10.1007/s12187-023-10089-z)
- Sandu, A. and Taylor, C. 2024. Digital learning technologies usage during Covid-19 lockdowns. British Educational Research Journal (10.1002/berj.4092)
- Sandu, A. 2023. Exploring the urban land-use patterns and dynamics in Central and Eastern Europe. Town Planning Review 94(3), pp. 293-317. (10.3828/tpr.2022.24)
- Sandu, A., Bănică, A. and Muntele, I. 2021. Urban resilience: an instrument to decode the post-socialist socio-economic and spatial transformations of cities from Central and Eastern Europe. Eastern Journal of European Studies 12(SI), pp. 170-195. (10.47743/ejes-2021-SI08)
Conferences
- Sandu, A., Keating, J., Huxley, K. and French, R. 2024. Educational attainment dynamics in Wales: Insights through data linkage and geographically weighted regression. Presented at: International Population Data Linkage Conference, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 17 September 2024, Vol. 9. Vol. 5. Swansea University, (10.23889/ijpds.v9i5.2722)
Monographs
- Sandu, A. and Hampton, J. M. 2022. Engagement with the Hwb virtual learning environment during Covid-19 school closures. Project Report. [Online]. ADR Wales. Available at: https://www.adruk.org/fileadmin/uploads/adruk/Documents/Data_Insights/Data_Insight_Engagement_with_the_hwb_virtual_learning_platform_August_2022.pdf
Research
Teaching
Prior to joining Cardiff University, I held a Teaching Fellow position at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi (Romania), where I taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses, seminars, and tutorials. My teaching portfolio encompassed a range of topics, including Human Geography, Urban Geography, Cartography and Geomatics, Environmental Geography, and GIS.
In this role, I was responsible for delivering high-quality, engaging teaching and facilitating active learning in the classroom. My teaching approach prioritized equipping students with the knowledge and skills they need to apply geographic principles to real-world challenges.
Biography
Alexandra's academic background includes an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science from the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi and a joint Ph.D. in Geography and Urban Planning from the Universities of Lyon and Alexandru Ioan Cuza. She also holds three master's degrees, including one in Territorial Planning and Environmental Studies from Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, one in Environmental Science from Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, and one in Tourism and Regional Development from Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi.
Supervisions
- Human Geography
- Urban Geography
- Urban Sustainability & Urban Resilience
- The Geography of Education
Contact Details
Research themes
Specialisms
- Urban studies
- Human geography
- GIS
- Educational inequalities
- Data science