School of Computing
Faculty of Engineering & Computing

• Permanent Contract

Introduction

Dublin City University (www.dcu.ie) is a research-intensive, globally-engaged, dynamic institution that is distinguished by both the quality and impact of its graduates and its focus on the translation of knowledge into societal and economic benefit. DCU prepares its students well for success in life, and in the workplace, by providing a high-quality, rounded education appropriate to the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. As Ireland’s University of Enterprise and Transformation, DCU is characterised by a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship and a track-record of effective engagement with the enterprise sector, including commercial, social and cultural enterprises. Excellence in its education and research activities has steered DCU’s consistent position in the rankings of the world’s top young universities. DCU has a strong track record in attracting both Irish and European Union funding under FP7, Horizon 2020, Marie Curie Actions and Erasmus. We offer a dynamic and internationally focused environment in which to advance your academic career.

School of Computing

The School of Computing at Dublin City University has earned a strong reputation for excellence in research and teaching. In addition to its existing programmes the B.Sc. in Computer Applications degree, the B.Sc. in Enterprise Computing, the new and innovative BSc in Data Science is the first of its kind in Ireland, and is aimed at students who are interested a career in Big Data, data analytics and related data science roles. We also offer a range of innovative taught programmes aimed at producing graduates with the professional and personal skills most sought after in the Information Economy.

The School also enjoys a lively, engaging environment for research in many areas of computing, with its numerous Ph.D. and M.Sc. research students producing work of significance at both national and international level. With close industry links and fee support for EU students, 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

Role Profile

The School of Computing is now looking to appoint an Assistant Professor in Computing (Information Retrieval / Natural Language Processing) to join its expanding team of academics. The successful candidate will contribute to teaching, curriculum development and administrative activities in the School of Computing, across all levels. The appointee will have an excellent research track record (including publication in high quality peer-reviewed journals/conferences, engagement in supervision of research students, engagement with industry, attracting research funding) and will be expected to demonstrate an alignment of their research interests with existing research expertise within the School of Computing.

Duties & Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of the position include, but are not restricted to, the following:

Teaching and Learning

The appointees 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.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Supervision of laboratory sessions, and student mentoring.
• Supervising undergraduate and postgraduate student projects.
• Getting involved in course development and delivery and participation in the ongoing development of programmes.
• Enhancing professional development skills for teaching.

Research and Scholarship

Engagement in high quality research activities in the topics mentioned earlier, either independently and in association with one or more existing research groups/centres. This engagement should have led to publications in high impact factor journals and presentations at international conferences. Additionally, the ideal candidate should:

• Show potential to establish an independent research programme (in the topics defined earlier) and attract research funding from competitive research funding schemes and/or industry
• Participate in research-related administration such as research student supervision, PhD thesis examination and related duties.

Service and Contribution to University and Society

Contribute to the ongoing direction and strategy within the school, faculty, university and profession, for example:

• 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 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 coordination; participation in committees; visits to students on industrial placement within the DCU INTRA programme; student recruitment.

Qualifications & Experience

Applicants must hold an honours degree and have completed a PhD qualification in Software Engineering (Information Retrieval/ Natural Language Processing). The successful candidate should ideally have a minimum of three year’s relevant postdoctoral experience, with a record of high quality university level teaching and the development of modules related to the sub-topics outlined below.

In addition, ideally the successful candidate will have:

• An excellent research track record, including publication in high quality peer-reviewed journals/conferences
• Experience in supervision of research students, engagement with industry and attracting research funding
• A record of original research with publications in top international journals or, based on career stage, show exceptional promise in this regard
• Candidates should demonstrate excellent interpersonal and communication skills consistent with the highest quality of teaching and learning, together with evidence of successful teamwork and a collegial approach

Applications from persons with research interest/expertise in one or both of the following sub-topics of software engineering would be particularly welcome:

• Information Retrieval
• Natural Language Processing

Mandatory training:

The postholder will be expected to undertake the following mandatory compliance training: Orientation, Health & Safety, and Data Protection (GDPR). Other training may need to be undertaken when required.