Ad Astra Fellow - Lecturer/Assistant Professor in AI and Digital Cultural Heritage

Applications are sought for Ad Astra Fellow - Lecturer/Assistant Professor in AI and Digital Cultural Heritage within the College of Social Sciences and Law. 

UCD School of Information and Communications is undergoing a major period of growth, with successful undergraduate and graduate educational programmes and an ambitious programme of research across a range of subfields including library and information studies, communication and media studies, digital policy, human computer interaction, information systems, science/technology/society (STS), applied artificial intelligence and critical digital media. The school is seeking to recruit an Ad Astra Fellow in AI and Digital Cultural Heritage who will provide research leadership within the school and across the wider university, in this important field. Reporting to the Head of School, the Ad Astra Fellow will have a key role in research and scholarship, undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and academic administration, management and professional organisation in the academic areas of Information and Communication Studies, in active collaboration with colleagues in this School, in the other schools of the UCD College of Social Sciences and Law and throughout the University.

The School of Information & Communication Studies is committed to research-led education, and the candidate will be expected to conduct research in the area of AI and Digital Cultural Heritage that supports high quality teaching in their field, and to lead innovations in both research and teaching as well as expanding and deepening our partnerships with sectoral stakeholders nationally and internationally. The candidate will be expected to seek national and international research funding opportunities to grow capacity and consolidate relevant interdisciplinary interests across the college and university, towards developing a dedicated research group in AI and digital cultural heritage studies, thus enhancing UCD’s profile in this area.

The Masters in Library and Information Studies (MLIS) programme at ICS is a foundational taught programme of relevance to this area of research and attracts Masters applicants from North America, Europe and Ireland. This Ad Astra fellow will pursue growth in taught graduate enrolment on this topic, as well as engage with funding opportunities to develop AI and GLAM research, offering a pathway for PhD candidates from 2026. The candidate will contribute especially to the newly revised and accredited MLIS and demonstrate the ability to enhance existing digital cultural heritage contributions and offerings in the programme. The candidate will also be invited to design a new AI-focused interdisciplinary module that will be delivered across our MSc in Human-Computer Interaction, MSc in Communication and Media programme, as well as MLIS to further build synergies within the School. The candidate will also contribute to the development of new undergraduate modules for the BSc in Social Science (ICS) and BA in Creative and Cultural Institutions to which ICS is a key contributor, to enhance ICS UG offerings and inform discussions on a potential AI related major on the undergraduate DN700 BSc programme.

With UCD’s new HEA supported micro credential strategy a scholar with this expertise will also support potential development of micro credentials in AI and digital GLAM studies, to meet the demand for skills development from professionals working in the Irish cultural heritage sector.

95 Lecturer/Asst Professor Above the Bar (7943) Salary Scale: €62,855 - €99,533 Per Annum

Appointment will be made on scale and in accordance with the Department of Finance guidelines.

Closing date: 12:00 noon (local Irish time) on the 21st February 2025. 

Applications must be submitted (via the ‘Apply’ button above) by the closing date and time specified. Any applications which are still in progress at the closing time of 12:00 noon (Local Irish Time) on the specified closing date will be cancelled automatically by the system. UCD are unable to accept late applications.

Please note: the eRecruitment system only requests the names of two referees. The full list of 3 referees should be included in the text of your application.

UCD do not require assistance from Recruitment Agencies. Any CVs submitted by Recruitment Agencies will be returned.

Note: Hours of work for academic staff are those as prescribed under Public Service Agreements. For further information please follow the link; https://www.ucd.ie/hr/t4media/Academic%20Contract.pdf