Assistant Professor in Computer Science (Education) (COM_06)

Working at Durham University  

A globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a warm and friendly place to work, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other.

As one of the UK’s leading universities, Durham is an incredible place to define your career. The University is located within a beautiful historic city, home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and surrounded by stunning countryside.  Our talented scholars and researchers from around the world are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.  

We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things in the world. Being a part of Durham is about more than just the success of the University, it’s also about contributing to the success of the city, county and community.

Our University Strategy is built on three pillars of research, education and wider student experience, but also on our keen sense of community and of inspiring others to achieve their potential. 

Our Purpose and Values

We want our university to be a place where people can be free to be themselves, no matter what their identity or background. Together, we celebrate difference, value one another and are each responsible for creating an inclusive community that is respectful and fair for all.

Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Durham area on our Why Durham? information page.   

The Department 

The Department is one of the UK’s leading Computer Science departments, with an outstanding reputation in research, teaching, and student employability. Our internationally recognised research covers Algorithms and Complexity, Artificial Intelligence and Human Systems, Networks, Scientific Computing and Vision, Imaging and Visualisation. There is a lively research culture with many visitors and events, and active and rewarding collaborations with other departments in Durham and with other scientists in the UK and internationally. In the recent assessment exercise REF2021 we improved by six places in the ranking. We aim to provide an encouraging and friendly environment with a strong sense of community. The Department has recently grown rapidly, and now has more than 55 permanent members of academic staff. In 2021, we moved to a newly constructed building, which we share with Mathematics. 

The Department has a proud tradition of delivering excellence in its undergraduate programmes through research-led teaching. Attracting some of the best students in the UK, the Department is ranked 4th in the Complete University Guide 2024. As part of the expansion of the Department, new MSc programmes in Business Analytics, Scientific Computing and Data Analysis, and in Data Science launched within the past five years. 

The Department holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award. Athena SWAN is a national initiative that recognises the advancement of gender equality, representation, progression and success for all in academia.

Pedagogical Innovations In Computer Science (PICS) at Durham is a leading group in the UK for Computer Science pedagogy, hosting the national Computing Education Practice conference annually since 2017. As well as five education track academics, our members include colleagues from other research groups in the department: AIHS (AI in education) and ACiD (pedagogy of Theoretical Computer Science). We also collaborate with other academic departments across the university (e.g. Education, Psychology, Mathematical Sciences) and beyond.

  The Department of Computer Science at Durham University seeks to appoint a talented individual to the role of Assistant Professor to work in the PICS group. We welcome applications from those with teaching interests aligned with our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and we are particularly eager to hear from applicants with a focus on public engagement and outreach, diversity and inclusion.

This post offers an exciting opportunity to make a major contribution to the development of internationally excellent pedagogy and teaching while allowing unrivalled opportunities to progress and embed your career in an exciting and progressive institution. For more information, please visit our Department pages at https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/computer-science/   

Assistant Professors (Education) at Durham 

Assistant Professors on the Education track contribute to teaching, innovation, and citizenship, with opportunities to enhance their own development, support their department and discipline, and contribute to the wider student experience.

Teaching quality and innovation is critical to ensure a first-class learning environment and curricula for all our students. You will be supported to develop your teaching expertise, to engage in teaching innovation, to enrich our student experience, and will be assigned a designated mentor.

You will be expected to engage in scholarship related to pedagogy, noting that any other independent research (beyond pedagogy) is not part of this post. The appointment will be on the University’s ‘Education Track’ career path, which provides clearly defined opportunities for progression against defined criteria.   

We are confident that our recruitment process allows us to attract and select the best talent to Durham. We therefore offer a reduced probation period of 1 year for our Assistant Professors (Education) and thereafter, subject to satisfactory performance, your position will be confirmed as permanent. 

Applicants must demonstrate teaching excellence in the field of Computer Science, with the ability to teach our students to an exceptional standard and to fully engage in the services, citizenship and values of the University.  

The University aims to provides a working and teaching environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate these key principles as part of the assessment process. 

Key responsibilities:

• To deliver lectures, seminars and tutorials at undergraduate and taught postgraduate levels, with the opportunity to teach more widely within the Department, as well as engaging in related activity such as assessment
• Engage in pedagogic activity at Departmental level that supports a high quality, academic professional community of practice within the Department and beyond.
• Maintain an active membership and engagement with a professional body (e.g. HEA or discipline-specific bodies).
• Contribute to ongoing curriculum development, demonstrating innovation in educational practice to enhance the quality of the educational environment in the Department and wider University in support of our continuing emphasis on international excellence as well as equality, diversity and inclusion.
• To contribute to the administrative work, citizenship and values of the Department.
• Engage in and enhance the values of the Department with regard to its commitment to its vibrant and international postgraduate culture.
• Carry out such other duties as specified by the Head of Department.

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion 

Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key component of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do.  We also live by our Purpose and Values  and our Staff Code of Conduct.   At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It’s important to us that all colleagues undertake activities that are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI. 

We welcome and encourage applications from those who are currently under-represented in our work force, including people with disabilities and from racially minoritised ethnic groups.

If you have taken a career break or periods of leave that may have impacted on your teaching achievements or pedagogical outputs, such as maternity, adoption or parental leave, you may wish to disclose this in your application The selection committee will recognise that this may have reduced the quantity of your research accordingly.

The University has been awarded the Disability Confident Employer status. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role. 

Person Specification  

Candidates must outline their experience, skills and achievements to date which demonstrate that they meet or that they have the potential to achieve the essential criteria. You’ll help us deliver outstanding teaching throughout the year and develop pedagogical innovations alongside a team of truly world class colleagues. Please note the role will include pedagogical duties that may extend into the summer period.

Education 

Candidates must demonstrate the development and delivery of high-quality teaching that contributes to providing a supportive and enabling learning environment and curricula which encourage students to achieve their potential.

Essential Education Criteria 

Scholarship and Educational Impact

Candidates will have the ability to engage in scholarly activity which contributes to pedagogical practice and understanding within the department, faculty, and University.  

Essential Scholarship and Educational Criteria 

Candidates must be able to evidence work undertaken in preparation for teaching and for keeping abreast of developments in the subject area.

The format will depend on the discipline and the candidate’s career to date, but evidence of scholarship and educational impact may include some of the following (or similar) activities:

Service, Citizenship and Values 

Active engagement in administrative and citizenship requirements and to fostering a respectful environment, including a demonstrable commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Essential Services, Citizenship and Values criteria 

1.    Citizenship contribution – evidence of participation in the citizenship/administrative activities of an academic Department, Faculty or University. (Candidates may choose to evidence departmental or University roles, mentoring activity, pastoral and academic support of students, engagement with widening participation, involvement in equality and diversity initiatives and membership or engagement with external bodies).  

2.    Communication – candidates must have excellent oral and written communication skills with the ability to engage with a range of students and colleagues across a variety of forums.  

3.    Administration – evidence of engagement with administration related teaching in an academic department and/or discipline or other relevant administration experience.

Desirable Criteria 

The desirable criteria for this post (for which candidates should provide evidence of some if not all criteria) are: 

1.    Qualification -– candidates to hold or have the ability to attain the rank of Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/individuals/fellowship/fellow ), which is the national body that champions teaching excellence (or Equivalent).  

Contact Information 

Department contact for academic-related enquiries 

Professor Steven Bradley [email protected]

Contact information for technical difficulties when submitting your application 

If you encounter technical difficulties when using the online application form, we prefer you to send enquiries by email.  Please send your name along with a brief description of the problem you’re experiencing to [email protected]  

Alternatively, you may call 0191 334 6801 from the UK, or +44 191 334 6801 from outside the UK. This number operates during the hours of 09.00 and 17.00 Monday to Friday, UK time.  We will normally respond within one working day (Monday to Friday, excluding UK public holidays).  

How to Apply  

We prefer to receive applications online.    

Please note that in submitting your application, we will be processing your data.  We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement https://www.dur.ac.uk/ig/dp/privacy/pnjobapplicants/  which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.  

What to Submit 

All applicants are asked to submit:

• A CV 
• A covering letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out above.
• A personal scholarship plan.
• An EDI & values statement – (of no more than 500 words) which demonstrates your commitment to EDI and our values. (I.e. involvement in equality, diversity, and inclusion activities such as mentoring, volunteering, or attending conferences. 

All application documents should be uploaded with your name and document type as PDF files.

We will notify you on the status of your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system.  Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails.  

Referees 

You should provide 3 academic referees they should not (if possible) include your PhD supervisor(s).  The majority should be from a University other than your own (save for early career applicants applying for their first post). 

References will be requested for candidates who have been shortlisted and will be made available to the panel during the interview process. 

As part of your application, you will be asked whether you give your consent to your academic references being sought should you be invited to attend an interview. We will only request references where permission has been granted.  

Next Steps 

All applications will be considered; our usual practice is for colleagues across the Department to read the submitted work of long-listed candidates.   

Short-listed candidates will be invited to the University, either virtually or in-person and will have the opportunity to meet key members of the Department.  The assessment for the post will normally include a presentation to staff and students in the Department followed by an interview and we anticipate that the assessments and interviews will take place over two days in or around 10 and 11 April 2024. 

In the event that you are unable to attend in person on the date offered, it may not be possible to offer you an interview on an alternative date. 

Applicant Guidance  

For further guidance on your application please see HERE