Assistant Professor in Interaction design (PA2024/646)

Ergonomics and Aerosol Technology (EAT, https://www.eat.lth.se) belongs to the Faculty of Engineering (LTH) at Lund University. We are part of  Department of Design Sciences and we are located at the Ingvar Kamprad Design Center (IKDC). There are 50 employees at EAT.

We focus on the interaction between people and technology and how this knowledge can be used to design technology, technical systems and organizations. This knowledge can be used to design products and environments that people come into contact with, i.e. it can be about work environment, home and other environments and contexts in which people are present.

We offer a comprehensive and appreciated undergraduate education in Swedish within several engineering programs such as Computer Science, Information and Communication Technology and Risk, Safety and Crisis Management, as well as in the English-language master's program "Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality (VR/AR)". We specifically contribute knowledge about interaction design and interaction between people, technology and organization (MTO). You will have the opportunity to develop these courses together with our large teaching team of senior lecturers and doctoral students.

We have several exciting and international research projects that need reinforcement. Some examples are HARIA - Human-Robot sensorimotor augmentation, which aims to develop robotic prostheses based on a user-centered design process, Magician - automation and robots in the automotive industry, and Ability, which will develop a multisensory device that will eliminate the existing barriers for blind and visually impaired people in education, employment and leisure, and promote cooperation with sighted people. Infravis is a national collaborative project with the aim of improving support for data analysis and visualization involving large and complex data. Another project is developing guidelines for requirements specification and procurement to contribute to a better digital work environment in healthcare. These projects are carried out entirely or partly in a Swedish context where written and oral communication takes place in Swedish. Some of the research is carried out in some of our well-equipped laboratories such as the Virtual Reality Laboratory and the Usability Laboratory.

We are committed to providing our employees with a healthy working environment and good conditions and resources to conduct research of high international quality and to provide teaching that is appreciated by our students.

The Department of Design Sciences is now recruiting an Assistant Professor in Interaction design. 

Subject

Interaction design.

Subject description

Interaction design is an interdisciplinary discipline that focuses on studying, designing and optimizing the interaction between people and products, technical systems, organizations and/or environments. Research in interaction design may include development or application of design methodology, various aspects of product development and cognitive psychology. The subject includes research with a connection to the working environment, health, universal design (products and environments must be accessible and usable for everyone) and MTO (the interaction between people, technology/machine and organization) and is often carried out in development projects with strong elements of user participation and production of prototypes in different levels of detail. By integrating these different aspects in our research, we strive to contribute to knowledge about the creation of effective and meaningful solutions that can improve all people's quality of life and work environment in various contexts.

Work duties

Employment as an assistant professor is a tenure track position, which aims for the holder to develop their independence as a researcher and educator. The work duties mainly involve research and teaching. The position includes the opportunity to undertake five weeks of training in teaching and learning in higher education.

Work duties include:

• Research. The applicant is expected to contribute with knowledge and experience of qualitative research methods as well as development of theory and methodology in several research projects that are conducted by combining interaction design, work environment, and universal design. Applicants are also expected to contribute to formulating and building a long-term strategy for the subject area's research.
• Teaching. The department has comprehensive teaching at basic (given in Swedish), advanced and postgraduate level in the subject areas of work environment technology, interaction design, work organization, human factors, risk management, cognition, universal design and rehabilitation technology. Applicants must participate in and develop our courses and coordinate the courses.
• Supervision of degree projects and doctoral students.
• Actively seeking external research funding.
• Collaboration with industry and wider society.
• Administration related to the work duties listed above.
• Deepen their pedagogical knowledge.

Qualification requirements

Qualification requirements for employment as an assistant professor are fulfilled by someone who has been awarded a doctorate or has the corresponding research competence.

Primary consideration should be given to someone who has been awarded a doctorate or achieved the equivalent competence within five years of the deadline for application for employment as an assistant professor. However, someone who has been awarded a doctorate or achieved the equivalent expertise at an earlier date may also be considered if there are special grounds. Special grounds are sick leave, parental leave or other similar circumstances.

Assessment criteria

For appointment to assistant professor, the following shall form the assessment criteria:

• A good ability to develop and carry out high quality research.
• Teaching ability.

Additional requirements

• Very good oral and written proficiency in English.
• Very good oral and written proficiency in Swedish.
• Documented experience in teaching interaction design
• Documented experience of working on projects involving end users.
• Documented experience in prototyping and user interface design.
• Documented experience of multidisciplinary research work.
• Collaborative skills, initiative and the ability to solve work tasks independently, as well as a demonstrated interest in leadership.

Other qualifications

• Significant documented research experience (e.g. from postdoc or doctoral studies) from another university/institute or relevant experience from industry/public sector.
• Documented experience of teaching in work organization, human factors, universal design, accessibility or cognition.
• Documented experience of research in work organization, human factors, universal design, accessibility or cognition.
• Documented experience of having performed user studies and worked with user-centered design processes.
• Experience of contributing to research applications.

The extent to which the applicant, through their experience and skills, may complement and strengthen ongoing research, undergraduate education, departmental innovation, and how they can contribute to the future development of the department will also be taken into consideration.

Terms of employment
This is a full-time, fixed-term employment of 6 years. The employment is regulated in accordance with Chapter 4 Section 12a§ HEA. The purpose of the appointment is for the teacher to be given the opportunity to develop research autonomy and acquire the scholarly and teaching qualifications required for eligibility for appointment as a senior lecturer.

We offer 

Lund University is a public authority which means that employees get particular benefits, generous annual leave and an advantageous occupational pension scheme.  Read more on the University website about being a Lund University employee: https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/about-university/work-lund-university.

Instructions on how to apply

Applications shall be written in English. Please draw up the application in accordance with LTH’s Academic qualifications portfolio – see link below. Upload the application as PDF-files in the recruitment system. Read more:

http://www.lth.se/english/working-at-lth/to-apply-for-academic-positions-at-lth/

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Promotion to Senior Lecturer in Interaction design.

During the period of employment, an assistant professor can apply for promotion to a permanent position as Senior Lecturer if he or she has the required qualifications listed below, and is deemed suitable. An assistant professor can only apply for promotion once.

Qualification requirements

Appointment to senior lecturer requires that the applicant has:

• A PhD or corresponding research competence or professional expertise considered important with regard to the subject matter of the post and the work duties it will involve.
• Demonstrated teaching expertise.
• Completed five weeks of training in higher education teaching and learning, or acquired equivalent knowledge by other means.

Assessment criteria

The assessment criteria specify the aspects to be considered, and the level to be achieved, for the assessment criteria to be deemed fulfilled. The following assessment criteria must be fulfilled for appointment to senior lecturer:

• A good national and international standing as a researcher. The requirement for international experience shall be assessed with consideration to the character and traditions of the subject.
• Good teaching ability, including a good ability to conduct, develop and lead teaching and other educational activities on different levels and using a variety of teaching methods.
• An ability to supervise doctoral students to achieve a PhD.
• An ability to collaborate with wider society and communicate his or her activities.
• A general ability to lead and develop activities.

Additional requirements

• Good ability to collaborate, independence and drive.
• Progression in research and teaching expertise.
• Demonstrated ability to attract external research funding in competition.