Karlstad University takes pride in combining active external cooperation with academic excellence. Karlstad University has around 19 000 students and a staff of over 1 300 members. Democratic principles, equality and diversity are cornerstones of the University. We value the enriching presence of diverse backgrounds and competencies among students and staff. Read more about working at Karlstad University at https://www.kau.se/en/work-with-us
Description
Media and Communication Studies is part of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and boasts a thriving educational and research environment. The department offers first-cycle education within several programmes as well as second-cycle programmes. Transnational contacts and global perspectives are fundamental in our work. First-cycle education is primarily conducted in our two major study programmes, Public Relations and Media and Communication. The latter features two tracks, Visual Communication and Design and Digital Media and Analysis. The department is also home to an international Master’s programme called Geomedia Studies: Media, Mobility and Spatial Planning.
Research in Media and Communication Studies is mainly conducted in two profiled research domains at the department:
- the research centre Geomedia (Centre for Geomedia Studies, http://www.kau.se/geomedia/) where focus is on the importance of media in organising and giving meaning to spaces and places, and vice versa, with an emphasis on tourism, everyday life, and popular culture, and
- the research group NODE (the Ander Centre for Research on News and Opinion in the Digital Era,http://www.kau.se/media/node with focus on the social function, practice, and audience of journalism in the age of digitisation and fragmentation.
You can find more information about the university at https://www.kau.se/en/ and more information about the subject at https://www.kau.se/en/media-and-communication-studies.
The position as associate senior lecturer is aimed at ambitious and qualified researchers in media and communication studies who are at the beginning of their career and who are looking to gain valuable qualifications within the discipline.
Duties
Research and development
As associate senior lecturer, you will take a leading role in developing the interdisciplinary research domain of visual communication and design, both within the department and in relation to the academic community in general. Your research should focus on the contemporary, increasingly digitalised, media landscape and be rooted in media research (Media and Communication Studies) as well as one or several of the areas of visual communication, visual culture, design (in particular graphic design, data visualisation, interaction design, information design, and UX design), motion picture, art history, and visual studies. In addition to conducting your own independent research, you are expected to be an active part of initiating and applying for funding for new research projects. There are also many opportunities to find synergies within the established research environments Geomedia and NODE (see above).
We value research and development projects that move between design and theory, and the ability to explore and/or apply theoretical knowledge in practical contexts. As associate senior lecturer, you will thus be an important bridge-builder, partly between research and education, partly between Media and Communication Studies and other subject environments (e.g. within the interdisciplinary platform “Forms of knowledge in visual design”, KVG).
Teaching and other duties
Your duties at the subject will primarily consist of teaching within study programmes, freestanding courses, and occasionally contract education, mainly in the area of visual communication and design.
Duties include teaching, supervision, examinations, course coordination, and course development as well as active involvement in furthering the subject and department with regard to teaching and collaboration with the larger community.
Research and development constitute 75% of working hours and the remaining 25% includes teaching and other duties.
Why choose Media and Communications Studies at Karlstad University?
Our ambition to keep moving forward is evident in everything we do, and your ideas and commitment will be embraced. Our renowned education and research are characterised by close ties to the larger community, and our successful research environment has a significant international impact. We are characterised by internationalisation, and you will interact with colleagues, students, and visitors from all over the world. We systematically work to further development that is socially, financially, and environmentally sustainable. A position at Karlstad University comes with several benefits, such as an elaborate wellness scheme. Find out more about the benefits we offer here: benefits. If you are looking for an exciting and young academic environment with forward motion, Karlstad University is the place for you!
Qualification requirements
To be eligible for an associate senior lectureship, applicants are required to hold a PhD in Media and Communication Studies or an academically adjacent, and for the position relevant, subject, have completed a course in higher education pedagogy or acquired equivalent skills in some other way, and have demonstrated teaching expertise. In special circumstances, candidates who have not completed a course in higher education pedagogy may still be hired provided that they do so within two years of employment or that they apply for validation of prior learning.
The position is primarily intended for applicants who have completed their PhD or acquired equivalent qualifications no longer than five years before the application deadline. If an applicant completed their PhD or equivalent qualifications more than five years ago, this requirement may be waived if there are special circumstances. By special circumstances, we refer to special grounds such as sick leave, parental leave or similar types of leave.
A complete list of eligibility requirements is available in Karlstad University’s Appointments Procedure.
Assessment criteria
Special weight will be given to both research and teaching experience within the subject area of visual communication and design.
Special weight will also be given to documented ability and experience of developing and running research projects within the area.
Qualifications to teach in design processes related to different communication efforts from both theoretical and practical/applied perspectives are also of special weight.
Since the position includes teaching in both Swedish and English, special weight will be given to proficiency in Swedish and English.
It is also important that you have a good ability to cooperate with others and take initiative on your own.
Considerable weight will be given to publications in international journals with peer-review (and equivalent publications) with relevance to research in visual communication and design. We also value participation in exhibitions, installations and other performances, or other forms of research presentations in qualified national and international contexts.
Additionally, considerable weight will be given to involvement in national and international academic networks of relevance to the position.
Weight will be given to experience of developing practical applications of your research in the discipline, preferably in collaboration with industry partners and/or actors in the arts.
Furthermore, it is important that you have documented experience of analysing and problematising cultural and social change processes related to the digital media landscape.
We also value if the applicant has;
- experience of organisational development and leadership,
- experience of teaching both second-cycle (Master’s) and first-cycle courses,
- international experience and experience of teaching both in Swedish and English,
- experience of course development and web-based teaching,
- experience of collaborating with the larger community,
- academic competence related to the research environments Geomedia and NODE, and
- applied competence relevant to various design processes (in particular graphic design, data visualisation, interaction design, information design, and/or UX design), including knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite or equivalent software.
Terms
The position is a temporary 4-year full-time position. Start date as agreed by both parties. The position is based at the Department of Geography, Media and Communication.
Terms for promotion to senior lecturer
Upon applying, an associate senior lecturer should be promoted to senior lecturer provided he or she is qualified for the position (Higher Education Ordinance chap. 4, sect. 4) and is deemed suitable following an assessment (Higher Education Ordinance chap. 4, sect. 4a). The applicant must have completed a prerequisite course in higher education pedagogy.
For other eligibility requirements, refer to the Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 4, and Karlstad University’s Appointments Procedure.
The position as senior lecturer is permanent.
Additional information
Karlstad University places great value on the enriching presence of diverse backgrounds and gender balance in the organisation. We welcome applicants with different cultural backgrounds, gender identities, functional abilities, and life experiences.
Application
Submit the application via the university’s web-based recruitment tool, Varbi. For advice on how to draft your application, refer to “Application Guidelines” on the university website.
Applicants are responsible for submitting a complete application in accordance with the advertisement, for providing translations of any documents written in another language than Swedish or English, and for ensuring that the documentation allows for objective and qualitative assessments. A complete application should be submitted by the application deadline. An incomplete application may jeopardise a fair assessment of qualifications.
The application should include:
- CV
- Cover letter
- An in-depth account of research experience
- An in-depth account of teaching experience
- Certificate to verify a completed course in higher education pedagogy or an account of equivalent skills
- An account of other experiences
- Managerial, collaborative, and administrative experience
- Plans for future work
- List of publications (in multi-authored publications, the role of the applicant must be specified)
- Language skills certificates
- Copies of course transcripts, degree certificates, and other certificates
- No more than 10 scientific publications and no more than 5 materials intended to convey knowledge, such as textbooks, computer programmes for teaching, or popular science articles
- Two references, at least one of which is a current or former supervisor
Attach all the documents and publications you wish to be considered to the electronic application (do not just provide links). Name each uploaded document to clearly indicate its content.
Documents that cannot be submitted electronically, such as books or publications, should be sent in triplicate to the following address:
Karlstad University
HR-Office Josefin Rönnqvist
651 88 KARLSTAD
SWEDEN
Application deadline: 3 April 2022
State the reference no: REK 2022/42
We look forward to your application!