Associate Professor in Human Computer Interaction

Location: City Centre Campus (Millennium Point)

Closing Date: 23.59 hours BST on Monday 12 August 2024

THE ROLE

The Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Group at Birmingham City University (based within the College of Computing) conducts world-leading research in areas such as accessibility and assistive technology, immersive platforms (i.e., AR/VR), wearable technologies, and intelligent systems. Our research achieves global impact and has attracted prestigious funding from industry giants (e.g., Google, Adobe, Facebook/Meta, and Microsoft), as well as funding bodies such as Innovate UK. We also provide innovative HCI and UX teaching experiences across a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes - for instance, our successful and popular MSc User Experience Design course ) is training the next generation of UX designers, developers, and researchers.

Since 2023, the HCI team moved into the new state-of-the-art £300M STEAMhouse building ) which offers cutting-edge research facilities, spaces, and labs that further enhance our ambitious research vision, as well as presenting new opportunities to collaborate with national and international industry partners. We are seeking an outstanding academic at the Senior Lecturer or Associate Professor grade to join our research and teaching team. As a member of the HCI Group, you will have opportunities to lead and contribute towards high-impact research projects, in addition to leading educational experiences for future HCI and UX practitioners. You should possess a proven excellence in research and teaching aligned to the HCI field, demonstrating a track record of research outputs at top international HCI conferences/journals, as well as experience around industry engagement and attracting research funding.

OUR VISION

Birmingham City University is growing in quality and standing, with an academic STEAM agenda at the heart of our ambitions. We are transforming the lives of students and their communities, and want outstanding academics to join us in taking us on the next stage of our exciting journey.

We are continuing to invest in new academic roles across the full range of subjects and disciplines that we offer in all four of our Faculties.

Our students learn through doing. They are empowered throughout their educational journey, achieving significant educational gain and personal transformation. In recognition of this we are looking to recruit exceptional academic staff who are at the cutting edge of their disciplines, as makers, practitioners, researchers, and educators.

There has never been a better time to join us. Come and be part of the next exciting stage of our journey – apply now.

FACULTY OF COMPUTING, ENGINEERING AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

In the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment (CEBE), we work to apply abstract intelligence to make a better, safer, smarter society. We have a strong emphasis on STEAM, with some of our teaching taking place in our award-winning new STEAMhouse building, where disciplines combine to solve real-world problems.

Our experts across the Faculty work not only with one another but across a wide range of disciplines, to solve real-world problems, and encourage and foster this spirit of Innovation in our students. Together, they are able to respond dynamically to the multiple modern technological challenges posed by fast-paced industries.

Across the Faculty, we integrate teaching with research, innovation and enterprise. We work closely with our industry partners to ensure that we are developing skills in our graduates that equips them for emerging careers and the future of work. We are fully committed to practice-driven experimental and flipped learning – harnessing the strength of employer relationships for the benefit of our students – who then go on to make a significant impact on society through their ideas, their work and their expertise.

HOW TO APPLY

Please click on the 'Apply' button to be redirected to our website and complete the Application Form.

In support of your application, we will ask you to provide:

• A cover letter of no more than two pages offering an overview of your career and expertise, and how that experience makes you the ideal candidate for this role.
• An up-to-date CV including your publication list and research and/or consultancy activity.
• A copy of two of your publications or outputs, or digital links to them where possible. If providing digital links, please include these on your cover letter document.
• Applicants seeking the conferment of an Associate Professor title are required to provide a statement no longer than four sides of A4 (Arial 11 font) outlining how they meet the criteria outlined in the Conferment Handbook, available below. The criteria for conferment are outlined on page 5 of the document, and expanded on in pages 14 to 21.

For guidance on the above, please refer to the Application Guidance document below.

ABOUT BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY

At the heart of our 2025 Strategy is our mission is to enable our students to transform their lives and to achieve their potential. Through our education and research, and the roles our graduates go on to play in the world, we not only support individuals to transform their lives, but we also play a part in transforming society.

Our heritage of making through innovation and its application through knowledge exchange, and of creative research and practice, today finds it expression in our STEAM agenda, in our research and enterprise, and in our commitment to challenge-based learning. Working across disciplines, and delivering impactful research and enterprise, interdisciplinarity is at the heart of the continuing transformation of our academic portfolio.

Research by our staff and students creates new knowledge, catalyses innovation, and has global impact. Through our research, we make new discoveries and deliver benefit to culture, industry, society, and the environment. Ground-breaking projects include changing health and care guidelines, improving policy and practice regarding Islamophobia, optimising energy efficient homes, promoting human dignity worldwide, improving critical care nursing, and exploring issues faced by jazz musicians.

OUR STAFF COMMUNITY

Birmingham is home to a rich and diverse range of communities. Our students reflect this rich cultural mix, and we are continuing to work to make sure that this is also reflected in our broader university community. By working together, combining our many different backgrounds and life experiences, we will empower each other to reach our full potential.

You can read more about Birmingham City University's commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion here.

Further Details:

Job Description - Associate Professor
Conferment Handbook
Guidance for Applicants

OUR VISION

Birmingham City University is growing in quality and standing, with an academic STEAM agenda at the heart of our ambitions. We are transforming the lives of students and their communities, and want outstanding people to join us in taking us on the next stage of our exciting journey.

Our students learn through doing. They are empowered throughout their educational journey, achieving significant educational gain and personal transformation.

There has never been a better time to join us. Come and be part of the next exciting stage of our journey.

ABOUT BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY

At the heart of our 2025 Strategy is our mission is to enable our students to transform their lives and to achieve their potential. Through our education and research, and the roles our graduates go on to play in the world, we not only support individuals to transform their lives, but we also play a part in transforming society.

Located in the centre of the UK's second city, we are a university with a long heritage of innovation and of making, dating back to our origins in 1843 when we were founded as the Birmingham Government School of Design.

Our heritage of making through innovation and its application through knowledge exchange, and of creative research and practice, today finds it expression in our STEAM agenda, in our research and enterprise, and in our commitment to challenge-based learning. Working across disciplines, and delivering impactful research and enterprise, interdisciplinarity is at the heart of the continuing transformation of our academic portfolio.

OUR STAFF COMMUNITY

Birmingham is home to a rich and diverse range of communities. Our students reflect this rich cultural mix, and we are continuing to work to make sure that this is also reflected in our broader university community.

Birmingham City University values the quality and diversity of our staff. Our staff and student community is defined by our core values, which outline who we are as a University and how we work with each other. Our core values are we create opportunity, we think differently, and we build community.

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, continuously reviewing and improving our policies, practices, and procedures to ensure that we are promoting these in all aspects of our operations. We believe that by working together, combining our many different backgrounds and life experiences, we will empower each other to reach our full potential.

We hold an Athena SWAN Bronze award in recognition of our commitment to improving employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.

Our University is located in one of the most culturally rich and diverse Cities in the UK, and it is our ambition to be the University for Birmingham and the surrounding region. The events of 2020 have highlighted the stark inequalities that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities face and we are committed to removing the institutional barriers that our staff and students face and improve the representation, progression and success of staff and students from all backgrounds within higher education. To demonstrate this, we have signed up to the Race Equality Charter to show our commitment.

Birmingham City University has been recognised for its progress on LGBT+ equality with a Gold award in the Stonewall Index and have entered the Top 100 Employers 2023 for LGBT+ inclusion. Meanwhile, we are Disability Confident (Committed) and are on an exciting journey to advance our University to progress through the Disability Confident scheme.

We are also a Mindful Employer, which means we are committed to supporting the mental health and well-being of our staff, and we have also signed up to the Mental Health Charter led by student mental health charity Student Minds. Furthermore, we are signed up to The Technician Commitment - a university and research institution initiative supported by the Science Council and Gatsby Foundation – aiming to ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians working in higher education and research.

WORKING AND LIVING IN BIRMINGHAM

The youngest city in Europe with under-25s accounting for nearly 40% of the population, Birmingham is a city full of energy and enthusiasm and is a great place to live and work.

Based in the heart of England, the city is easily accessible by road, rail and air. Birmingham New Street station has recently undergone major redevelopment, while the city is at the heart of the high-speed rail network, HS2. HS2 will provide new rapid rail travel connecting Birmingham City Centre to London and the rest of the network from the new Curzon Street Station – adjacent to Birmingham City University's City Centre Campus – and will be one of the most environmentally friendly stations in the world.

The city's appetite for progression is boundless, and it has been championing innovation since the earliest days of the Industrial Revolution, reflected in Birmingham City University's new STEAMhouse building which opened in October 2022 and is home to an inter-disciplinary community of entrepreneurs, businesses, academic researchers, and students offering a wealth of support to companies of all sizes to boost growth through innovation to address commercial and societal challenges.

Birmingham is brimming with great theatres, museums, the world-famous Birmingham City University Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, as well as beautiful historical buildings and the iconic Library of Birmingham. It also has amazing concert and sporting venues including Edgbaston Cricket ground, which Birmingham City University has a long-standing partnership with. It is also home to the Alexander Stadium, which is the stunning new home for Birmingham City University's sport courses. The Stadium was one of the main event spaces for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022, which saw the eyes of the world on the city, and Birmingham City University staff and students played pivotal roles - including designing the official medals for winning athletes.

Birmingham's vibrant dining scene offers something for all tastes, including Michelin star restaurants, Spiceal Street at the Bullring, the Chinese Quarter, and the famous Balti Triangle.

The city also provides a great place to shop, being home the Bullring and Grand Central, the luxurious Mailbox Birmingham and the world-famous home of British bling - the Jewellery Quarter, which is home to Birmingham City University's School of Jewellery.

From Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and the beautiful arcades and independents, to the city's historic markets in Digbeth, the shops in Birmingham offer a plethora of choice.

BCU Values underpin how we work in achieving the ambitions set out in our Strategy and Priorities, and are the principles that unite the way we work together and for our students.

£61,419 to £66,758 per annum