Assistant professor in Informatics with spec. in Interaction Design - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Background

Recent growth in the research activities and the well-established educational programs of the School of Information Technology (ITE) is enabling a significant expansion. In 2018 the total research expenditures exceeded 70 MSEK and the school hosted over 850 students. Over the next two years, the School will grow significantly. The Department of Intelligent Systems and Digital Design (ISDD) at Halmstad University is seeking to appoint a full-time Assistant professor in Information technology.

Informatics in Scandinavia integrates Information Systems and Human Computer Interaction research, with emphasis on user experience, service design and digital innovation research. The research in Informatics at Halmstad University has a focus on the area of digital service innovation. The vision centered on digital service innovation within informatics implies a focus on contemporary issues such as new forms of user experience design, stakeholder involvement in innovation processes, service design, digital service innovation, digital platforms, innovation ecosystems, and value network governance. The main application areas are transport and mobility, health promoting services, digitalization of public sector, and media. Informatics at Halmstad University has two bachelor programs (Digital Design and Innovation, Enterprise Systems), an international master program in Digital Service Innovation, and a doctoral school in Informatics.

Research is often carried out in collaboration with companies and public sector. The research on digital service innovation is one of the prioritized research areas where continued development of research strength is expected in order to reach excellence in international and national collaborations. This area, which is expected to attract considerable industrial interest also in the future, will be an important research area for Halmstad University in the coming years.

Description 

An assistant professor shall mainly be engaged in research and education. Teaching consists of supervising undergraduate, graduate, as well as doctoral students. Teaching will primarily be done in the undergraduate program Digital Design and Innovation. The program is a progressive education aiming at educating tomorrow’s Interaction, UX, and Service Designers. The program implements forward-looking pedagogical approaches, such as design studio pedagogy. In the design studio, students work with design briefs from external companies in close collaboration with teachers and external partners as mentors. In addition, the hired assistant professor will be teaching at the undergraduate program Enterprise Systems and the international master’s program Digital Service Innovation.

The appointed assistant professor is expected to:

• conduct research of high international quality within the areas of HCI and UX design
• develop research in digital service design and innovation in collaboration with industrial partners, including application for external funding
• conduct high-quality teaching and develop courses at different levels within digital design and innovation
• contribute to develop research on digital service innovation for mobility and for health promoting services, where collaboration with other scientific areas is important

Candidates must write a research proposal, including ideas about possible cooperation within the area of digital service innovation related to the application areas in the environment.

The position as assistant professor (“biträdande lektor” in Swedish) is a qualifying appointment with the purpose of giving the employee a possibility to develop into an independent researcher and to obtain merits that can lead to another position with higher eligibility requirements (according to Higher education ordinance, 4 chapter 12a §). The position is limited to four years. After this period the assistant professor is qualified to be promoted to a position with conditional tenure as associate professor (“universitetslektor” in Swedish).

Qualifications

The position is intended for applicants with a recent PhD degree in informatics (including Human Computer Interaction, Information Systems) or closely related fields not earlier than 7 years before the time limit for applying. The applicant should be an active researcher in the relevant field with a good publication record. Experience from research and development in an industrial environment as well as professional experience in interaction design and similar areas is desirable. Experience from teaching at different levels in relevant subjects is a merit. Education is an important part of our work, and the applicant should be interested and engaged in this regard, and willing to explore new ways of teaching to enhance the student learning experience at all levels. The applicant must be able to examine students in Swedish on bachelor level.

The applicant must be engaged, structured, accountable and have good interpersonal skills and ability to take initiative. Excellent leadership, innovation ability, pedagogical competence, and experience in cooperation with industry are desirable.

Assessment criteria

For appointment as assistant professor, the following assessment criteria will be applied:

• Ability to conduct high quality teaching and to develop courses at different levels
• Ability to conduct research in informatics of high international quality
• Experience from research in collaboration with industrial partners
• Experience in supervision of bachelor and master students.

The specific weight given to each item above is decided in each case respectively.

Salary level

Individual salaries are applied at Halmstad University. The application should include salary requirements.

Application

Applications should be sent via Halmstad University's recruitment system Varbi (see link on this page). The application package shall consist of (preferable as one pdf file):

• a letter about the applicant's personal background and motivation for the application
• a CV (curriculum vitae)
• master and doctoral theses
• max five (5) selective publications the applicant wishes to refer to
• diplomas, certificates and other documents the applicant wishes to mention
• a research proposal
• contact information for at least three references

All attached copies should be attested.

General Information:

We value the qualities that gender balance and diversity bring to our organization. We therefore welcome applicants with different backgrounds, gender, functionality and, not least, life experience.

The working language at Halmstad University is English and knowledge of the Swedish language not required to start working. Also for daily life, English is spoken widely and Sweden has the highest English Proficiency index in the world. Learning to speak Swedish will make it easier to interact with public and private services, to follow local and national issues, to participate in teaching junior students, and to participate in administrative and leadership roles.

Read more about Halmstad University at http://hh.se/english/discover/discoverhalmstaduniversity.9285. html