Professor in Design and Creative Technologies

Closing date: Wednesday 22^nd May 2024 at midnight

Interview date: Friday 7^th June 2024

About York St John

York St John is an ambitious, modern university at the heart of historic York and there has never been a more exciting time to join us.

As one of the fastest growing universities in the UK over recent years, we have a new strategy for the next decade, emphasising our commitment to widening opportunity through the power of education and contributing our talents to creating a fairer world, and a more prosperous region. We are putting inspirational learning and impactful research at the heart of this strategy, recognising our academic expertise as our greatest asset.

The school

Design, clustered within the School of the Arts, is an ambitious and growing academic and creative department, which is home to the AR-VR Research Group and cognate suite of growing undergraduate and taught postgraduate degrees. Our burgeoning national and international research profile, excellent teaching and learning (TEF Silver Overall, and Gold for Student Experience), and welcoming and inclusive ethos supports an exceptional student experience (achieving 95% for overall academic support in the NSS in Design, and achieving excellent graduate outcomes, including 90% in Product Design). Our School offers a number of undergraduate degrees, and with £5.2 million Office for Students supported investment in the Design Building and high powered computing, we are about to launch new BSc/BA and MSc programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level in Creative Technologies focussing on virtual reality, augmented reality, and AI, alongside BAs in Games Design, Product Design, Graphic Design, Animation and Interior Design, and MAs in Graphic Design, Interior Design and VR-AR, and MSc Product Design. 

The role 

We are seeking an enthusiastic and engaged Professor to contribute to our vibrant undergraduate and postgraduate offers in Design, with a focus on creative technologies, virtual and augmented realities, AI and VFX. The majority of your work will involve leading PGR development in Design, leading and mentoring the team in research development, capacity building toward REF and growing funding capture, and in growing industry connections for research/practice informed teaching which reflects authentic creative careers, embedded in teaching in a variety of settings, including small groups and tutorials/seminars; assessment across the programmes; and the provision of pastoral and academic support to students. The successful candidate will be a collaborative colleague, who is engaged with students, utilising their research/practice across all we do.  

Key requirements 

Candidates will have expertise in teaching an area of Design, specifically with skills in developing AR, VR, VFX and AI further at undergraduate/masters level, and significantly have the drive, interest and track record in developing postgraduate research provision and staff research culture in Design. The successful candidate will be expected to cultivate an outstanding research profile in Design, within the areas of VR-AR. Please note that we recognise approaches in applied research and practice based-research, industry-based research, patents, journalistic articles or Indigenous research and welcome applicants who have experience of these within the field or VR-AR and creative technology design.

The candidate should have either significant design industry experience related to creative technologies or a PhD in a related field.

We offer a range of family friendly and inclusive policies and facilities to support staff from different backgrounds. As part of our commitment to providing an inclusive working environment, consideration is given to all requests for job share or flexible working arrangements.

Application process support

Before starting your application please refer to the attached 'candidate guidance document' which provides advice about completing the application process.

If you require a reasonable adjustment in order to apply for this position please contact vacancies@yorksj.ac.uk. Within the application form there is an opportunity for you to request a reasonable adjustment at the interview stage of the process, however if you wish to discuss this in further detail at any point  in the process please do not hesitate to contact us. The following resource may help you adapt the device you are using to apply to suit your needs My Computer My Way (abilitynet.org.uk)

Please note that CVs are not accepted in place of the application form.  Within the application process you will be asked to answer a selection of work-related questions. Our aim is to get to know you, and understand your individual skills and experience, and how you would apply these within the role. We are aware that ChatGPT can assist you with this, but we would prefer you to share your answers in your own words.

Our benefits package

We offer a wide range of employee benefits including:

• Excellent annual leave entitlement, including five discretionary university closure days over the Christmas period
• Disability leave (applies to staff who have disclosed a disability and is also available to staff with disabled dependants)
• Pension scheme
• Health Cash Plan after six months service
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Paid leave for Armed Forces Reservists
• On-campus courses, one-to-one tutorials, and online resources to help you develop your digital skills and work with new software
• Relocation expenses package for certain roles
• Reimbursement of Skilled Worker Visa application fees and Visa loan scheme for additional costs

Further information about life at YSJ

Read more about our culture, inclusive community, working arrangements and benefits for York St John employees here.

The latest news, views and stories from our staff and students can be found here.

We are committed to managing and reducing our environmental impact and to promoting sustainable development wherever we can, read more here.