Tenure Track Assistant Professor STEM

Tenure Track Assistant Professor STEM

Job description

We are looking for an early-career academic who is interested in starting a tenure track and who can strengthen our teaching and research in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) higher education.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education is primarily concerned with the theories, tools, methods, and approaches that facilitate the practice of STEM or the study of STEM through an interdisciplinary approach. As such, the field engages with questions related to STEM literacy, STEM thinking, problem-solving, critical thinking, instructional practices, embodied cognition, multimodality, inclusivity as well as connections between STEM disciplines.

As Assistant Professor you will:

• Play a significant role in the development of research and education at FSE, both at the course and the program level, in the area of STEM education.
• Supervise scientific research projects in STEM education for the students in the Master's program Science Education and Communication.
• Teach the course “Research Methods in Education” in the Master’s program Science Education and Communication.
• Take a leading role in the Senior Teaching Qualification Training for professors with education focus at the Faculty of Science and Engineering.
• Contribute to current research lines in the Institute for Science Education and Communication and develop your own research line through external grant acquisition.
• Contribute to the supervision of PhD students in the Institute for Science Education and Communication.
• Perform administrative and organizational duties at the Institute and the Faculty levels.
• Contribute constructively to interdisciplinary collaboration in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education at the Institute and Faculty levels.
• Participate actively in international research networks.

At the stage of Assistant Professor 30% of your time is for teaching and education development, 60% for research and 10% for organizational tasks.

Organisation
The University of Groningen is a research university with a global outlook, deeply rooted in Groningen, City of Talent. Quality has been our top priority for over four hundred years, and with success: the University is currently in or around the top 100 on several influential ranking lists.

Faculty of Science and Engineering
The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) is the largest faculty within the University. We offer first-rate education and research in a wide range of science and engineering disciplines, from classical disciplines such as biology, mathematics, astronomy and mechanical engineering, to interdisciplinary fields such as artificial intelligence, pharmacy, life sciences and nanoscience.

The position we offer will be embedded in the Institute for Science Education and Communication (ISEC) at the Centre for Learning and Teaching that aims to improve Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education at the university level through research. This is done through explorative and intervention-based studies that include the development, implementation, and impact evaluation of curriculum materials, course design, pedagogical tools and instructional strategies as well as the use of digital tools in teaching and learning.

ISEC works closely with Science LinX, research schools (e.g. Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health) institutes and units (e.g. Professionalisation and Innovation of Education, Science and Society, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) at the University of Groningen and it is affiliated with international organizations and associations (e.g., European Science Education Research Association, National Association of Research in Science Teaching).

The two-year MSc programme Science Education and Communication caters to students with a BSc in science, mathematics or engineering, and trains them to become either a science teacher in high school or a professional in the broad field of science communication.

Qualifications

We encourage you to apply if you have:

• A PhD degree in STEM Education or related field (e.g. Science education, Biology Education, Instructional design, Learning sciences) with a focus on STEM integration and/or critical AI use in STEM education.
• Demonstrably excellent skills in research methodologies relevant for studying STEM learning and teaching in higher education: quantitative and/or qualitative research methods, practice-based research, participatory action research, or ethnography.
• A good track record in research, as shown by publications in international peer-reviewed journals and external research funding.
• At least three years of relevant work experience at the university level after your PhD.
• A relevant international network and preferably international experience.
• Demonstrable organizational competences.
• Excellent command of spoken and written English.

And you are:

• If not yet in possession, willing to obtain a University Teaching Qualification (Dutch: BKO) within five years.
• Able to work well in an international, culturally diverse environment.
• Team player with good communication skills who is able to inspire students and colleagues.
• Competed in using Dutch language or motivated to learn it within five years (B2 level).

Conditions of employment

We offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

• A full-time position as Assistant Professor in STEM education in our faculty’s tenure track system Career Paths in Science.
• A tenure track position as Assistant Professor (0.8-1.0 FTE) for a period of 60 months.
• A salary, depending on qualifications and work experience, from € 4,537 up to a maximum of € 6,209 gross per month (salary scale 11), depending on your career stage for a full-time position.
• A PhD position and an attractive starting package.
• A holiday allowance and end-of-year bonus of respectively 8% and 8.3% of your yearly salary.
• A pension scheme.
• Maternity and parental leave.
• The possibility to work part-time (0.8-0.9 FTE).
• A personal development trajectory and a mentor program.
• Dual career support for partners of new faculty members moving to Groningen.

Starting date: 1 May 2025

The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identities. We believe that working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in particular to apply.

We provide career services for partners of new faculty members moving to Groningen.

Information

For information you can contact:

• Prof. Lucy Avraamidou, +31 6 27194432, L.Avraamidou rug.nl