Post-doctoral researcher in human-centered design / Aalto University

Aalto University is an interdisciplinary community of bold thinkers where science and art meet technology and business. Aalto’s core strategy follows three cross-cutting themes: sustainable solutions, entrepreneurial mindset and radical creativity. Aalto University has six schools with nearly 12 000 students and more than 400 professors. Our campuses are located in Espoo and Helsinki, Finland. 

The Aalto School of Arts, Design and Architecture (ARTS) is a Nordic leader in higher education for design, fashion, games, media, architecture, film, art education and fine art. We produce world-class research e.g. in design, digital media and visual culture, art education, urban planning and architecture. Our graduates innovate in and beyond their fields, drawing on over a century of tradition of our institution, a humane and forward-looking approach, and the latest technologies. The Department of Design is a community of creative and responsible researchers and design experts. We educate front-line design professionals and visionaries for established, changing and emerging fields of design. (https://www.aalto.fi/en/department-of-design). 

Post-doctoral researcher 

The position will begin by the 1st of August 2022 or as agreed, and last for two years

Your role and goals

The overall job-profile of the post-doctoral researcher includes 50% research and 50% teaching. This position contributes to human-centred design research area, which is one of the three core research areas of the department. Department of Design is a globally leading unit in the research and practice of human-centered design and codesign with its research groups ENCORE and INUSE specializing on these topics.

This research area includes several professors: Sampsa Hyysalo, Virpi Roto, Tuuli Mattelmäki and Martina Čaić.

The research profile of the presently open post-doctoral position is to help the Department of Design to strengthen and re-think human-centred design. The expertise of the applicant can include, but is not limited to, themes such as human-centered design, codesign, experience design, and service design in the increasingly digitalised world.

The teaching topics include human-centered design, user interface design and prototyping in Bachelor and Master programmes. The job includes advising and evaluating Bachelor’s and Master’s theses in related topics. There is also an opportunity to participate in education collaboration between universities in Finland.

Your Experience and Responsibilities 

We are looking to hire an ambitious candidate who has the capacity to contribute to continuous renewal of education and research. We expect you to have: 

• Demonstrable competence in human-centred design;
• Experience in university education (pedagogical training is considered an additional merit);
• A doctoral degree in design, information systems, human-computer interaction, or in a related relevant field;
• Excellent verbal and written language skills in English (Finnish language skills are considered a plus). 

Successful applicant is expected to take on the following responsibilities:

• Conducting research of high international standard, including publishing;
• Contributing to research funding applications,
• Offering student-oriented, high-quality teaching, and supervising undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students’ work. Teaching comprises 50 % of the workload. 
• Participating in regular research activities, such as research seminars, workshops, and conferences;
• Interacting in various ways with society, Aalto University’s stakeholders in particular.

What we offer

We offer the opportunity of working in a dynamic world-class community of creative professionals and researchers, with a remit to continuously explore the frontiers of design research and practice.

The salary is determined according to the applicant’s experience and qualifications. Activities are mainly located in the Otaniemi campus of Aalto University in Espoo, part of the capital region of Finland.

Aalto University provides its employees with occupational health care services and excellent learning and development opportunities. Finland is a healthy and safe living environment, offering many excellent state-subsidized services including affordable day care and free schools and universities, which are consistently ranked among the best in the world. 

More information about living and working in Finland:

Get to know Finland and Aalto | Aalto University

Aalto University follows EU rules and regulations on HR policies. Based on the regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems, full-time employment at Aalto University is inconsistent with residence abroad. Employment duties need to be performed in Finland. The specific responsibilities and salary are determined based on the applicant’s qualifications and level of position. In addition, Aalto University provides its employees with occupational health care services.

Ready to apply?

To apply, please submit the following application materials through our recruitment system Workday no later than June 13, 2022, at 23:59 EET (UTC+2).

Aalto University’s employees and visitors should apply for the position by using their existing Workday user account!

The application material must be in English and must include the following documents in PDF format (’lastname_firstname.pdf’): 

• Cover letter with a statement of interest in the post that you are applying for 
• Curriculum Vitae – please use the template recommended by The Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity 
• List of publications, with the maximum three most significant publications highlighted including at least one solo or first authored article. 
• Research portfolio -a concise (max 3 pages) self-reflection on the merits, long-term vision, and research plan.
• Teaching portfolio according to Aalto’s guidelines- Teaching competence assessment_Guidelines_for_candidate_2020_Aalto University[1].pdf

We reserve the right, for justified reasons, to leave the position open or to extend the application period.

For more Information

Please contact Professor Virpi Roto virpi.roto@aalto.fi and/or Professor Sampsa Hyysalo sampsa.hyysalo@aalto.fi

In questions related to the recruitment process, please contact HR
Coordinator Katju Helminen, katju.helminen@aalto.fi 

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