AHO calls for permanent position as Associate professor / Assistant professor in Communication, Creativity and Interaction Design

The Institute of Design at The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) calIs for application for a full-time, permanent position as an Associate/ Assistant professor in Communication, Creativity and Interaction Design.

Interaction design is one of the main domains at the Institute of Design. Interaction design is an integrated part of the 5-year Master programme in design and an important part of the institute's research-portfolio. AHO was one of the first design schools in the Nordics to develop an interaction design curriculum, and has been a leading contributor to research and innovation within this field for two decades. Interaction design at AHO has been developed and taught alongside service- and industrial-design, as well as systems oriented-design, giving interaction design at AHO a unique interdisciplinary profile. The interaction design team at AHO collaborates closely with the growing digital sector in Norway, and has an extensive international network across academia and industry. AHO has been at the forefront of developing curriculum, research and innovation within areas such as the maritime industry, digital cities and societies, future studies, tangible interactions, healthcare and technology. Alongside our service design team, interaction design at AHO have been central in building knowledge and educating designers that are taking part in developing digital services in both the public and private sector.

The Institute of Design at AHO is expanding and has a growing demand for staff over the next few years. We have several positions within interaction design out for the spring of 2021 (https://aho.no/no/stillinger). If you are interested in becoming part of our team, but don't think this position is a good fit for you, please see our other calls or contact us directly (info below). We also welcome you to apply to several of the calls if that is relevant.

We are looking for a highly motivated person that wants to be a part of our interaction design team as a full-time, permanent associate/ assistant professor. We are looking for an interaction designer and educator with a broad profile and experience from a range of digital design projects, preferably both commercial and artistic/experimental. This position will be responsible for developing and teaching curriculum that covers various parts of design, with a focus on creativity and design methods, communication and film-making, concepts development and exploration, as well as design for Web and screen based interactions. In particular, we are seeking someone with extensive experience from teaching creativity, exploration and communication through engaging, practice-led pedagogy. The applicant's own practice and experience should cover themes from across design, with a particular emphasis on interaction designing. A broader design-background that also covers service or industrial design would also be valuable. We are looking for someone who also wants to develop a flourishing, investigative design practice that can contribute to the institute's practice-led research, innovation and dissemination portfolio. The person in this position will also be expected to take part in, and contribute to, practice-based research and innovation projects at the institute and/or developing new projects. We would welcome someone with an outspoken and holistic approach to how design can make an impact on society.

We are interested in a practiced designer with a strong portfolio who is also an accomplished educator with experience from teaching design on Master- and undergraduate-level. This person will be part of AHO's interaction design team and take part in teaching courses alongside experienced staff, and is also expected to develop and teach self-driven curriculum. This person will specifically be responsible for teaching parts of our undergraduate curriculum, where inspiration, engagement, creativity and exploration are the key learning goals. Furthermore, the position will contribute to the interactions design courses throughout the curriculum. Excellent visualizations and communication skills are required, as this position is also expected to contribute to teaching communication methods, including for example sketching techniques and film-making. Experience in practice-led and studio-based teaching in a design school will be prioritized.

If possibilities allow for this, we might hire more than one person for this position.

• Developing and teaching studio-based undergraduate and Master courses with a focus on interaction design in the intersection of Web, screens and new technologies, building on exploration, creativity and prototyping
• Developing new projects and curriculum that contributes to AHO's 5-year Master in Design
• Contribute to developing practice-based research, innovation and dissemination projects
• Develop collaborations and networks with external partners
• Developing teaching and research- and development-projects of high quality and ambition.
• Communication and dissemination of outcomes of teaching-, research- or development projects towards relevant national and international arenas
• Participation in administrative work

Information on general qualification requirements for appointment to an Associate professor/Assistant professor on the basis of artistic qualifications can be read here:  Regulations No 129 of 9 February 2006 (https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2006-02-09-129) . Those qualified for appointment as an Associate Professor(§1-4) (https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2006-02-09-129) are a person who has demonstrated (minimum 200 hours) teaching expertise, has documented artistic or development work at a high international level and with a special specialization that is relevant to the subject area or discipline, and the position and the duties it will involve

• The applicant must document extensive practice from, and a high level of knowledge of, interaction design.
• The applicant must document extensive experience from developing digital design projects in professional settings.
• The applications must document experience from design-led pedagogy and teaching
• Excellent written and spoken English is a requirement, while fluency in a Scandinavian language is recommended and will be prioritized.

The position require residency in the Oslo region.

• Excellent pedagogic skills and related experience
• Outstanding collaboration and communication skills
• Innovative, proactive and solution-oriented perspectives and approaches
• The ability to engage students and colleagues
• Being able to support and flourish in an ambitious atmosphere with periods of high work intensity

Personal suitability for the position will weigh in.

• An outstanding stimulating and international professional research and teaching environment
• Depending on qualification, the position is placed in government pay scale, position code 1009 Assistant Professor, or code 1011 Associate Professor
• Membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (a monthly deduction of 2% of gross salary will be made as a contribution to the fund)
• Standard terms applicable for the position.

In the light of a personnel policy aiming at a working staff which reflects the composition of the population in general, as regards gender and cultural diversity, women and persons with a minority background are particularly encouraged to apply for the position. AHO is eager to support career development.

As the application is to be assessed by an expert committee, applicants are asked to submit a documented, extensive overview of their design practice, teaching and all other activities of relevance to the position § 1-4 (https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2006-02-09-129).

The application must include:

• A cover letter stating motivation for the position, that also summarize teaching experience and future ambitions for disciplinary and pedagogical development. The motivation-letter should also include a reflection on the applicant's pedagogical approach.
• A CV
• A list of design practice/ teaching experience / publications / other qualifying works that are to be considered in the application
• Portfolio that shows a range of professionally practice and projects that are relevant to the position (can be online)
• Certificates/ diplomas
• A list of 2-3 references with name, relation to candidate, e-mail and phone number

The applicant is responsible for documenting all aspects of his/her competence in the application. Application with attachments must be submitted via our online recruitment system jobbnorge.no. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

The applicants will be assessed based on professional and/or artistic practice, but academic experience will count into a holistic assessment of the candidate's competence. The evaluation committee will assess applicants for both the announced permanent positions in interaction design (https://aho.no/no/stillinger). If the opportunity arises, the institute wishes to employ more than one person for one of the position.

At AHO the positions as associate professor is typically distributed within three main components; teaching, research and development, and administrative tasks. The balance between the components will be agreed upon at the conclusion of the contract.

The application deadline is June 22th 2021.

Question can be directed to Head of Institute Rachel Troye at phone: email: rachel.troye@aho.no or +47 90580905, or Chair of Interaction Design Einar Sneve Martinussen at phone: email: einar.snevemartinussen@aho.no, or +47 48076201

General information about AHO at www.aho.no (http://www.aho.no)