Assistant or Associate Professors in Design Research

Assistant or Associate Professors in Design Research

The Department of Engineering at Aarhus University, Denmark, has a number of open positions in the Civil and Architectural Engineering Section for an Assistant or Associate Professors in Design Research.

Design research is a growing research group at Department of Engineering at Aarhus University. As applicant you are an important part in building its foundation and characteristics these years.

From a point of departure in established collaboration within engineering disciplines and computer science the ambition of the group is to supply design competences in both research and teaching across all scientific and technical engineering disciplines.

In the pursuit of this we are looking for colleagues that share visions and contributions for building a new stronghold in Design both nationally and internationally.

The successful candidate has a strong documented talent in the field of design, and is expected to have contributed to the development of design as a research domain. The ideal candidate is expected to become a central part of our young and growing research group focusing on design in relation to engineering and technology. The candidate is expected to contribute to the development of an international and high level design profile at the Department of Engineering.

The group

The research group currently gathers competences from architecture, industrial design, interaction design and ethno methodologically inspired design. We believe that design skills are build on solid artistic and academic foundation and best executed in a strong technical environment with the aim of serving both man and nature. Our design endeavours focus equally at the object of design and the impact of design and allows for embracing all the prefixes (strategic, interaction, service etc.) of design.

The group deploys the approach of Research-through-Design to develop new knowledge and understanding, putting sketching, co-creation and innovation framing at the heart of the research and teaching endeavours. In this context design is an interdisciplinary practice merging strong technical competences, aesthetic and social concerns. In particular, the Design Research group is concerned with the interplay between social constructions, designed artefacts and spaces in all its shapes; whether manifested in materials or concepts. The group takes point of departure in design being an exploratory practice where framing and re-framing questions matter as much as iterations on solutions.

Requirements

In particular, we welcome applicants showing strong practical and academic competences in:

• classical disciplines of formgiving, drawing and sketching,
• involving and understanding people in design processes
• working constructively and disruptively with business and social innovation
• bridging deep technical and natural science skills and competences with design - both existing and emerging fields

We invite interested applicants to position themselves from a point of departure in the above in full or in parts. Along those lines applicants are requested to submit a research plan and teaching portfolio accompanied by a vision statement for the position including expected contributions to the group.

The candidate is required to teach relevant courses in design across computer science, engineering and other technical educational programs, and the candidate is encouraged to establish new, specialized courses in within his or her field.

Applicants at the assistant professor level should as a minimum hold a PhD degree and preferable have a couple of years of post-graduate research and publication experience. The successful candidate must show an emerging productive publication record. Participation in international and national networks of researchers is expected.

Applicants at the associate professor level should in addition to a PhD degree have at least 4 - 5 years of post-graduate research and publication experience. Research leadership and ability to define and manage research projects is required, as is a successful record of external research funding. The successful candidate must show evidence of a productive publication record. Participation in international and national networks of researchers as well as international project applications is expected. Applicant should indicate which position they prefer.



Department of Engineering

Department of Engineering at Aarhus University (eng.au.dk/en) was established in 2011 to promote and develop Engineering research and education at Aarhus University. The department undertakes engineering research and education within all classic engineering disciplines (mechanical, electrical, computer, civil, architectural, chemical and biological engineering) in close collaboration with other departments at the university. Department of Engineering offers a dynamic, interdisciplinary research environment with many national and international collaborators from academia and industry.

For further information on the position please contact Professor Peter Krogh at pkrogh@eng.au.dk, Head of Section Søren Wandahl at swa@eng.au.dk, or Head of Department of Engineering Thomas S. Toftegaard at tst@eng.au.dk.

Application procedure

Short-listing is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the assessment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. All applicants will be notified whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee, and each applicant is given the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that concerns him/her self. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants, including the main considerations emphasized during the selection process.

Formalities and salary range

Science and Technology refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities. (in Danish).

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background.

All applications must be online: https://ssl1.peoplexs.com/Peoplexs22/CandidatesPortalNoLogin/ApplicationForm.cfm?VacatureID=816751&PortalID=5285

Deadline

01.06.2016