School of Design, Institute of Design Informatics, Edinburgh College of Art, CAHSS

Part Time (0.6 FTE), Open-ended contract.

Lecturer in Soft Robotics / Physical Computing

We are looking for a Lecturer at the Institute of Design Informatics, one of our Postgraduate Programmes in The School of Design, in applied and practice lead areas including Soft Robotics, Physical Computing, Creative AI.

The Opportunity

Applications are invited for an academic teaching position at Institute of Design Informatics in the School of Design at the University of Edinburgh. This post is part of a continuing expansion for Institute of Design Informatics, and associated expertise at the intersection of design, data science, and artificial intelligence at the University.

This post is associated with the Institute for Design Informatics (IDI), a long-standing joint research initiative between the Schools of Design and Informatics at the University of Edinburgh. About to enter its tenth year, IDI successfully draws upon Edinburgh’s unique combination of strengths in Informatics and Design. Working with technology as a medium for practice-based enquiry, our program is designed to inspire, equip and nurture a new generation of researchers, practitioners and entrepreneurs at the intersection of data, design and emerging technologies. IDI has a wide-range of projects funded by grants from external funding bodies (e.g., UKRI, EU), with projects typically aiming to consider futures for design through a series of imaginative and provocative data-driven prototypes that help us to make ‘real’ through design the ideas that underpin the emerging data society.

The successful candidate will join IDI’s dynamic team of 50+ academics, researchers, software research engineers and professional services staff. They will contribute to the Institute’s diverse research, teaching and entrepreneurship activities, and help shape the future of its Master’s programme, developing a leading educational offer within a framework of research and knowledge exchange.

We are open to applications from candidates across a range of aligned subject areas and fields that are of relevance to Design Informatics, but particularly including applicants with track records in material/ immaterial fields such as fashion-tech, soft robotics, material connectivity, creative AI and body-data. We are especially seeking applicants who can take a strategic lead on the applied practice-based technical agenda within IDI across courses to develop our portfolio of activities around creative technologies including soft robotics design and creative AI. This includes building collaborations with researchers and industry engaged in technical innovations across a range of aligned data-driven systems.

The successful candidate will be required to deliver support across the developing curriculum, and be required to take on additional civic duties within the department relating to course delivery. This may in time include senior rotating roles such as Programme Director or other civic duties across the School of Design including course admissions, and degree show development.

We are seeking current and future leaders in the field. The successful candidate will ideally hold a PhD qualification (or be near to completing one) and /or a Masters Degree with relevant industry and sustained teaching experience. We are an active Research Institute and the candidate will be encouraged to contribute to development of this through knowledge exchange or research lead teaching and practice.

The University of Edinburgh is one of the five founding partners of the UK’s Alan Turing Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence; this gives rise to opportunities to interact with PhD students, research fellows and senior researchers within the Turing Institute network of partners.

Your skills and attributes for success: 

• Preference for PhD, and/or Master’s Degree with relevant industry and evidence of sustained teaching experience in an area of fashion-tech, soft robotics, material connectivity, creative AI and body-data. Candidates who are close to completing their PhD, and who otherwise meet the selection criteria, will be considered.
• Evidence of course development and educational frameworks, with demonstrable understanding of teaching management activities and duties.
• Effective written and oral communication skills in a range of contexts (e.g. teaching, research presentations and publications) with strong industry network.
• Proven experience of undertaking original research, including leading a research group with record or potential of attracting research funding as an independent researcher.
• Experience of contributing to teaching on a range of degree and post-graduate courses as well as in more specialist applied practice based technical areas of relevance to Design Informatics across a range of teaching mediums including online and distance learning.

Click here for a copy of the full job description

Alternatively, you can view the job advert here.

Please ask your referees to submit their references to ECA.HR@ed.ac.uk before the closing date.

As a valued member of our team you can expect:

An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work. We give you support, nurture your talent and reward success. You will benefit from a competitive reward package and a wide range of staff benefits, which includes a generous holiday entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, staff discounts, family friendly initiatives, flexible working and much more. Access our staff benefits page for further information and use our reward calculator to find out the total value of pay and benefits provided.

The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.

Interviews will be held:

4th October 2022

If invited for interview you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK.  Further information is available on our right to work web pages.

The University is unable to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. International applicants will therefore be unable to apply for and secure a Skilled Worker visa. They will only be able to take up this role if they can demonstrate an alternative right to work in the UK.