Nord University
Global challenges demand new insight, innovative solutions and local legitimacy. Nord University is a young university with strong regional ties and a global perspective. We are committed to delivering relevant educational programmes and research, with a focus on blue and green growth, innovation and entrepreneurship, and welfare, health and education. Nord University has 11,000 students and 1,400 employees at nine study locations in central and northern Norway.
The Faculty of Social Sciences (FSV) educates social scientists and professionals who meet society’s need for innovation in welfare, development and communication. The Faculty offers a PhD in Sociology. The Faculty of Social Sciences has 1,800 students and 100 employees. The professional community is organised into the following divisions: Welfare and Social Relations; History, Culture and Media; Management and Innovation; and International Relations, the Circumpolar North and Environment.
Read more: www.nord.no/fsv
About the position
At the Faculty of Social Sciences, there is a vacancy for a position as an associate professor in the academic community for Games & Entertainment Technology. We are primarily interested in educators and researchers with expertise in video games programming and development. Experience with modern game engines like Unreal and Unity3D, and programming/scripting languages like C++, C#, Python, JavaScript, PHP and ASP.Net will be regarded as an advantage.
If the employee feels qualified for promotion to a professor position, he or she can apply for promotion after formal employment.
This position as professor in Games & Entertainment Technology is connected to the group of history, culture and media. For the Game & Entertainment Technology group, the research focus is innovative development and use of ICT/multimedia and games for a broader purpose than only entertainment. Another relevant area is innovative research on media content, journalistic practice and use of media technology. History research is also a part of this research group with responsibility for Sami history and culture.
The faculty at the Games & Entertainment Technology group is working closely with the national and international games industry to provide the students with a dynamic and modern setting for learning about using video games technology not only for creating their own video games but also for using that knowledge and skillsets to create or use game-related technology for other experiences, like research, exploration, testing, learning, motivation, simulation, etc.
The study programme is international and the teaching language is English. The subjects range from artistic classes like observational drawing and rigging and animation of 3D models for games or animation purposes to programming classes ranging from basic programming and scripting skills, via procedural content generation and animation, to optimizing the user experience in multiplayer real-time networked games. The successful applicant will both replace previous employees and develop new fields. We seek to strengthen both research and teaching and are therefore looking for applicants with relevant national and international connections, motivated to help build a strong, relevant and productive research environment at Nord University. The successful applicant will partake in the faculty’s teaching programs, primarily in programming rich subjects and game development.
The Games & Entertainment Technology bachelor programme is currently a part of the Centre for Excellent IT-Education project. A Centre for Excellence in Higher Education (SFU) is a Norwegian national centre granted by NOKUT. The SFU initiative represents a focused and long-term effort in order to stimulate the development of education and innovative approaches in higher education at the bachelor and master levels.
At the Faculty of Social Sciences, research applications are prioritized for the Research Council of Norway and EU programs.
The position is located in Levanger. The Faculty of Social Sciences at Nord University is distributed over several campuses, so co-operation between faculty regardless of geographical location is important. The position may involve tasks at Nord University’s other campuses.
Qualification requirements
- For employment as an associate professor (research-oriented førsteamanuensis in the Norwegian system), a Norwegian doctoral degree is required, within the relevant field of study or an equivalent doctoral degree from abroad that is accepted as a Norwegian equivalent, or competence at a similar level documented by academic publication of the same scope and quality.
- Applicants must provide documentary proof to show that they possess basic skills in respect of the planning, implementation, evaluation and development of teaching and supervision. New supplementary provisions on professional educational competence came into force on 1 September 2019. For further information please refer to Nord University’s website. Any applicants who are unable to provide documentary proof of adequate professional educational competence when employed must acquire such competence over the course of a two-year period. Nord University offers a course on University Pedagogy which covers this requirement.
- Good oral and written presentation skills in English and Norwegian (or possibly another Scandinavian language).
- For employment in a permanent position, applicants must be able to teach in Norwegian/Scandinavian language. Temporary employment for two years can be considered in order to obtain the ability to teach in Norwegian/Scandinavian language.
Qualified applicants will be ranked according to the following criteria:
- Research and development relevant to the position
- Publications from the last five years will be given special emphasis
- Experience with international research networks and externally funded projects
- Experience in teaching and supervision at Bachelor and Master levels from higher education institutions
- Pedagogical qualifications
- Good skills in communicating and collaborating with students and colleagues
- Personal qualities which can contribute positively to the academic environment
We offer
The position is compensated according to Norwegian government regulations, code 1011 for associate professor (research-oriented). Salary by agreement.
- Advantages within the Government Pension Fund for borrowing, insurance and pension.
- Creative and collegial working environment
- A workplace with steady progressive development
- Flexible working hours
- Active university sports team
General information
The person who is appointed must abide by the applicable laws, agreements, and directives. The responsibilities and duties associated with the position may change with future reorganization at Nord University.
The public sector workforce is expected to reflect the diversity of the population in general. Nord University, therefore, encourages qualified candidates with disabilities, gaps in their CV, immigrant backgrounds or different life experience to apply. Nord University practices moderate allocation according to gender quotas in accordance with the Basic Agreement for State Employees.
If applicants indicate they have disabilities or gaps in their CV, their details may be used anonymously for the purposes of a governmental annual review
Contact information
Further information about the position can be obtained by contacting :
Program coordinator Hugo Nordseth, telephone +47 74 11 22 65, e-mail: hugo.nordseth@nord.no
Dean Hanne Thommesen, telephone +47 48 27 10 59, e-mail: hanne.thommesen@nord.no
Application process
Applicants will be evaluated by an expert committee. Short-listed applicants will be called for an interview and trial lecture. These will be decisive for the appointment.
If there are many applicants, an internal committee may be convened to identify the most relevant candidates in the pool. These candidates will then be evaluated by an expert committee. All applicants will be advised in writing of the outcome.
Application
Applications must be submitted online by the closing date of 19th of April 2020.
The electronic application must contain:
- Cover letter
- Complete CV summarizing education, positions held, teaching and research experience, publications, administrative experience and other qualifying activities
- Copies of diplomas, transcripts and certificates
- Complete copies of up to 10 of the most relevant publications / academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered, along with a list of those submitted. The list should include five publications that the applicant believes to be most important, along with the reasons why. The doctoral dissertation should be included.
- Documentation of other activities which the applicant considers relevant to the position and desires to be considered in the assessment.
- Contact information for 2-3 referees
All documentation to be considered is to be uploaded as attachments to the application.
Complete documentation in electronic form must be submitted by the closing date for applications.
After the application deadline has expired a list of applicants will be published. Note that, in special cases, the identity of particular applicants to a position may be made public even when that applicant has requested that their application be processed confidentially. Applicants requesting an exemption from publication of their identity must explain their reasons for doing so in their application. In this case, advance notice will be given in the event of a decision to make public any information about the applicant.
Ref.nr. 30084316