Assistant Professor in Computing

Exciting academic positions in the School of Computing, Dublin City University

Dublin City University seeks to recruit high-performing, globally competitive academics to join its School of Computing. Specifically, DCU is looking to recruit

• A Professor of Natural Language Processing (Permanent or Fixed Term Five Year Contract)
• Up to 5 Assistant Professors in Computing (Fixed Term Five Year Contracts) across the following areas:
  • Security, Cryptography & Cyber Security (Blockchain Technologies in particular)
  • Software Engineering
  • Artificial Intelligence (and Natural Language Processing in particular) o Data Analytics / Machine Learning / Mathematical Modelling / Complex Systems

Dublin City University

DCU is a research-intensive, globally-engaged, dynamic institution that is distinguished by both the quality of its graduates and its focus on the translation of knowledge into societal and economic benefit. Excellence in its education and research activities has led to DCU’s consistent ranking as one of the world’s leading young universities (THE; QS).

With a strong commitment to research excellence across its five faculties (Engineering and Computing, Science and Health, Humanities and Social Sciences, DCU Business School, and DCU Institute of Education), the University is home to a number of internationally renowned research centres in specific areas of Science, Digital Innovation, Engineering, Humanities, Social Sciences, Education and Business. As Ireland’s University of Enterprise, DCU is renowned for its commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship, and its proactive engagement with the enterprise sector.

DCU has created an environment that promotes and rewards research, scholarship, innovation, entrepreneurship and external engagement. This enables DCU to maintain and develop our areas of research excellence while encouraging researchers and partners from different disciplines to work and advance together.

DCU by the numbers:

• DCU is the fastest growing university in Ireland.
• Over 17,000 students; the fastest growing university in Ireland.
• Ranked in the top 100 of young university globally (QS universities under 50 list).
• Ranked 200-250 globally for Computer Science (THE subject rankings 2019)
• Highly internationalised: 22% of students are international students, with over 110 different nationalities.
• The DCU Alpha Innovation campus is home to over 50 companies and 500 staff.

Talent, Discovery and Transformation

In its Strategic Plan (2017 - 2022) Talent, Discovery and Transformation, DCU sets out its vision as a globally-significant University renowned for its development of talent, its focus on creativity and innovation, its discovery and translation of knowledge into societal benefit, and its commitment to sustainability.

While academic excellence can be pursued in any discipline within DCU, and at any scale, we recognise that, in general, the greatest impact is achieved from a critical mass of multidisciplinary researchers tackling major research challenges. Such is the nature and complexity of these challenges facing the world that international collaboration is essential to make significant and sustained advances. In this context DCU continues to develop international strategic partnerships to focus our research and innovation activities on delivering economic and societal benefits.

Dublin City University Innovation Ecosystem

Co-located with Dublin City University, DCU ALPHA is a commercial innovation campus that promotes the growth of research-intensive businesses that are creating the technologies and services of tomorrow. 50 companies employing 500 staff currently operate across the campus, developing ground-breaking products in connected health, clean energy and IoT technology. Here, indigenous SMEs and start-ups innovate alongside multinationals like Fujitsu, Siemens and Veolia in a collaborative hub, in partnership with a visionary university.

A city at the forefront of the digital revolution, Dublin is ideally positioned to become a global IoT capital. DCU ALPHA provides optimum conditions for firms involved in bridging the physical and digital worlds. Here, hardware prototyping spaces operate alongside bio labs and contemporary offices; entrepreneurs socialise with lab technicians and engineers; breakout conversations spawn exciting ideas and creative collaborations.

DCU Faculty of Engineering and Computing.

Today's engineers and scientists play an increasingly important role in the future of our country and the world. This Faculty focuses on preparing students to pursue careers in the STEM and ICT sectors.

The Faculty is home to the Schools of Computing, Electronic Engineering and Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and hosts or participates in a number of large-scale world-class research centres, including: INSIGHT (Data Analytics), ADAPT (Digital Content Technology), Lero (Software Engineering), Entwine (Internet of Things) and I-Form (Additive Manufacturing).

The Faculty offers degree programmes at Bachelors, Masters and PhD levels, with our graduates highly sought after by industry. We offer a supportive, innovative learning environment in classes and tutorial-style delivery, and our students have real engagement with our research-active staff, in both contexts and enjoy the experience in lab-based environments.

The Faculty is committed to the University strategic plans related to the continued development and enhancement of cross-university internationalisation activities. This includes mechanisms to support staff and student mobility, and engagement with opportunities to explore best practice internationally or develop international partnerships underpinning T&L excellence, undertaking research and/or developing and publishing leading practice. The Faculty already has a significant number of very strong research and teaching linkages across the globe, particularly in the Middle East and Far East.

Software and ICT in Ireland

Ireland has earned the reputation for being the heart of ICT in Europe. The country has become a global technology hub-of-choice, attracting the strategic business activities of leading ICT and Software companies. The industry employs over 37,000 people and generates €35 billion in exports annually. Ireland is home to 16 of the top 20 Global Software Companies, 9 of the top 10 US Technology Companies, the 3 top Global Enterprise Software Companies and 4 of the top 5 IT Services Companies. The Irish government invests € 700 million in research annually, with Data, Software and ICT being strategic priorities. Advanced skills development in these areas is the focus of the national training fund initiative.

DCU School of Computing

The School of Computing at Dublin City University is Ireland’s largest Computer Science department and has earned a strong reputation for excellence in research and teaching. It is ranked in the top 200-250 Schools Globally for Computer Science.

The School of Computing maintains the teaching activities of the School central to our mission. We have three leading bachelor’s degree programmes: the B.Sc. in Computer Applications, the B.Sc. in Enterprise Computing, and a new BSc in Data Science, the first of its kind in Ireland. We also offer a range of innovative taught master’s programmes aimed at producing graduates with the professional and personal skills most sought-after in the Information Economy. Increasingly, these programmes are delivered in flexible modes. Our graduates are highly regarded and are welcomed by the top global IT companies, many of which are based in Dublin and have strong links with the School of Computing.

The School is an active centre of research and innovation, with many domain pioneers among our staff and an excellent track record of attracting significant funding from Irish (e.g. Science Foundation Ireland) and international sources. The School is a major stakeholder in two Irish SFI research centres, specifically: the Insight Centre for Data Analytics and the ADAPT Centre for Digital Content Technology, together employing over 50 high-performing researchers. Furthermore, staff are significantly involved in a number of other research groups including Lero the Irish Software Research Centre and the ARC-SYM Advanced Research Computing for Complex Systems Modelling Centre. Members of staff have collaborative links with a range of national and international research centres and global organisations within Europe, Asia and the US. The School provides a supportive environment for research, and its numerous Ph.D. and M.Sc. research students produce work of significance at both national and international level.

With close industry links the School's teaching and research programmes reflect the current and anticipated needs of Ireland's industrial and commercial sectors while at the same time meeting the most rigorous national and international academic standards.

Full information about the School can be obtained from its website: http://www.computing.dcu.ie

The research expertise in the School of Computing is divided into three categories:

1. Platform Expertise: We have significant platform capability connect researchers from across the School, Faculty and University under thematic umbrellas of:
   1. Data Analytics; primarily under the auspices of the Insight Centre for Data Analytics at DCU.
   2. Software and Systems Engineering; largely within the Lero centre and some research activity in INSIGHT, ADAPT and ARC-SYM centres
2. Distinctive Expertise: The unique expertise that the mix of individuals in the school bring together forms four key strengths:
   1. Media Analytics, including very significant level of activities in both Insight and ADAPT research centres.
   2. Natural Language Processing, which is the primary focus of the ADAPT Centre
   3. Complex Systems Modelling, where ARC-SYM members address complex problems that can be modelled computationally.
   4. Security & Cyber Security, which addresses both offline and online data security issues.
3. Emerging Expertise: Important topical areas in which the school has identifiable emerging research strengths:
   1. Educational Analytics, which aims to explore how data analytics can assist the learning process.
   2. FinTech addresses the international competitiveness of the Irish Financial Services Sector through cutting-edge Financial Technology research in RegTech, InsureTech and PayTech.
   3. Data and the citizen (Privacy, protection and ethics). This addresses the intersection of technology and societal interests in the context of increasing reliance on technology and AI in all aspects of our lives, and seeks to put the interests of individual at the centre of the technical ecosystem.

The School is a major stakeholder in two Irish SFI research centres: the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics and the ADAPT SFI Research Centre for Digital Content Technology. Furthermore, staff are significantly involved in a number of other research groups including Lero the Irish Software Research Centre, ENABLE the SFI Spoke on IoT and the SFI funded FinTech Fusion spoke.

ADAPT Centre for Digital Content Technology

The ADAPT Centre (https://www.adaptcentre.ie) is Ireland’s global centre of excellence for digital content technology. It combines the expertise of researchers at four universities with that of its industry partners to produce ground-breaking digital content innovations. ADAPT brings together 250 researchers who collectively have won more than €100m in funding and have a strong track record of transferring world-leading research and innovations to more than 140 companies. With €50M in new research funding from Science Foundation Ireland and industry, our research and technologies will continue to help businesses in all sectors and drive forward future Web engagement. The new FinTeh Fusion Spoke has secured €4m funding for a research programme which contributes and aligns with the goals of the Irish Government’s International Financial Services 2020 Strategy.

Insight Centre for Data Analytics

Insight (https://www.insight-centre.org) is Ireland’s national research Centre for data analytics, and the largest of all SFI Research Centres. Insight brings together over 400 leading researchers and groups from higher education institutions across Ireland, in a single, coherent research centre. Its research explores fundamental topics in the core of the discipline, such as statistical models and constraint programming, as well as applications and commercial projects with 80+ industrial partners. Collaborations with other Research Centres and with European consortia enables Insight to apply its skills to challenges in a range of scientific disciplines, from smart cities to financial sentiment, semantics to energy efficiency.

Lero The Irish Software Research Centre

Lero (https://www.lero.ie) brings together leading software research teams from Universities and Institutes of Technology in a coordinated centre of research excellence with a strong industry focus. Lero’s research is focused on how software comes into being and how it evolves over time, with an emphasis on reliability, security and fitness-for-purpose.

Advanced Research Computing Centre for Complex Systems Modelling

The ARC-SYM Centre (https://www.dcu.ie/arcsym) research spans computing, science, engineering and physics. Its members have particular expertise in simulation and modelling in areas such as Complex Systems, Data Intensive Computing, Business Process Modelling, Time Series Analysis, Supply Chain Management, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Genomics and Bioinformatics as well as newer ones such as Agricultural Data Modelling.

In addition via the ADAPT and Insight research centres the School of Computing is a partner in three SFI funded CRT (Centre for Researcher Training) in the areas of data analytics, artificial intelligence and data-driven innovation. These CRTs will fund in the region of 60 new PhD starts over a 7 year period and it is expected that successful candidates will play a role in 1 or more of these, through supervision of PhD students.

The School of computing is seeking up to five posts at the rank of Assistant Professor to join its expanding team of academics.

Person Specification

Applicants for the posts must hold an honours degree and have completed a Doctoral qualification in a relevant field. The successful candidates should also have a minimum of three years relevant postdoctoral experience, with a record of high quality university-level teaching.

The successful candidates will have a research track record, including publication in high quality peer-reviewed journals/conferences, engagement in supervision of research students, attracting research funding, and will be expected to demonstrate an alignment of their research interests with existing Platform, Distinctive and/or Emerging research expertise within the School of Computing.

The successful candidates will be expected to contribute to teaching, curriculum development and administrative activities in the School of Computing, across all levels. Applications from individuals with both a teaching interest/expertise in one or more of the following areas are would be particularly welcome as:

• Security, Cryptography & Cyber Security (Blockchain Technologies in particular)
• Software Engineering
• Artificial Intelligence (and Natural Language Processing in particular)
• Data Analytics / Machine Learning / Mathematical Modelling / Complex Systems

The appointee will be required to contribute directly to degree programmes through research-led teaching, supervision of laboratory sessions, student mentoring and supervision of student projects. Specifically the successful applicant will be required to (inter alia):

• Prepare, deliver and assess a range of core Computing subjects at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. This will extend to supporting innovation in teaching, transnational and digital provision of programmes, engaging with international travel and new technology as needed.
  • Supervision of laboratory sessions, and student mentoring. o Supervising undergraduate and postgraduate projects.
  • Liaising with other module co-ordinators on course development and delivery and participation in the ongoing development of programmes.
  • Engaging with professional development for teaching.
• Engagement in high quality research activities (publications in high impact factor journals, and presentations at international conferences) independently and in association with one or more existing research groups/centres.
  • Must have the potential to establish an independent research programme and attract research funding from competitive research funding schemes and/or industry
  • Is expected to participate in research-related administration such as research student supervision, PhD thesis examination and related duties.
• Contribute to the school, faculty, university and profession
• in terms of strategic planning, quality review and improvement processes
• and external programme accreditations.
  • via involvement with appropriate professional institution(s) and associated initiatives.
• developing and delivering the International Activities of the School of Computing, including international travel to do so.
• Undertake some administrative functions related to the activities of the School of Computing, Faculty of Engineering and Computing, and the wider university. Such duties will be defined by the Head of School and may include some of the following: degree programme co-ordination; participation in committees; visits to students on industrial placement within the DCU INTRA programme; student recruitment.

Salary Scale:

Lecturer above bar: €52,188 - €83,039

Lecturer below bar: €39,123 - €53,784

Appointment will be commensurate with qualifications and experience, and will be made on the appropriate point of the Lecturer Above Bar or Lecturer Below Bar salary scale in line with current Government pay policy.

Application Procedure

Informal enquiries to:

Professor Rory O’Connor, Head of School of Computing, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland

E-mail: Rory.OConnor@dcu.ie

Tel: +353 (0)1 700 5643

Website: http://www.computing.dcu.ie

Please do not send applications to this email address, instead apply as described below

Application forms are available from the DCU Current Vacancies (open Competitions) website at http://www.dcu.ie/vacancies/current.shtml and also from the Human Resources Department, Dublin City University, Dublin 9. Tel: +353 (0) 1 7005149.

Please clearly state the role that you are applying for in your application and email subject line: Job Ref #1183: Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in Computing

Closing date: Wednesday 10th April 2019

Application forms and CV should be submitted by email to hr.applications@dcu.ie or by Fax: +353 (0)1 700 5500 or by post to the Human Resources Department, Dublin City University, Dublin 9.Human Resources Department, Dublin City University, Dublin 9. Tel: +353 1 700 5149; Fax: +353 1 700 5500 Email: hr.applications@dcu.ie

Dublin City University is an equal opportunities employer