The job requirements are detailed below. Where applicable the skills, qualifications and memberships required for this job have also been included.
The University is dedicated to supporting an equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment – to create better futures, together. The diverse backgrounds, characteristics and opinions within our community are our great strength and are key to our pursuit of delivering educational excellence, enterprise, research and professional services. We welcome applications from people from diverse backgrounds and minoritized groups as they are currently under-represented within our community.
We recognise the value of a fulfilling and balanced work and personal life which promotes wellbeing. We seek to support colleagues in achieving this balance and have family-friendly policies, flexible working arrangements and many roles can be suitable for dynamic working arrangement. This includes considering applications to work on a part-time, flexible and job share basis wherever possible.
Loughborough University is a UKVI Sponsor. Some individuals may require sponsorship to enable them to apply for a visa to provide them with the right to work in the UK. Please note certain roles are not eligible for sponsorship. For further information and eligibility please visit the UKVI website.
School of Design & Creative Arts
Fixed-Term for 15 Months (term length will be reduced if candidate commences role post January 2021 due to funding restrictions) - Part Time Working Considered
Applicants are invited for a design focused Research Associate in Hybrid Gifts project at School of Design and Creative Arts in Loughborough University.
You will conduct research within the EPSRC funded 'Hybrid Gifts' project (EP/S027440/1), which is a collaboration between Loughborough University and University of Nottingham. The project aims to develop new kinds of digital-physical hybrid products that can support engaging digital gifting experience by mapping out the opportunities to create meaningful personalised gifts. This spans immersive augmented reality applications to run on a mobile phone to Internet-of-Things technologies embedded in novel interactive physical objects. Through collaboration with our industrial partners, we will explore how a range of different types of product might become hybrid gifts: fast-moving-consumer-goods such as bath product gift sets; hand-crafted high value artisan products and luxury food gifts that could be coupled to digital contents (e.g., music tracks, personal messages) to create a multisensory experience.
The position requires a candidate with strong prototyping and crafting experience, employing interaction design skills to create novel interactive gift artefacts. You will be responsible for exploring, designing and prototyping new forms of gifting experience that encompass both digital and physical elements. Knowledge in UX/UI design is essential. Knowledge of gift exchange, digital communication, rituals, and digital gifting would be highly desirable. By designing novel user experience of gift exchange, you will contribute in designing frameworks and guidelines to understand how the hybridity of an artefact can be applied in customising gifting experience.
Ideal candidates may hold or are near completion of a doctoral qualification in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science or in a relevant field.
Please upload your CV and portfolio (few examples of your past design work) with the application. The CV should be accompanied by your portfolio as one document.
Informal enquiries should be made to Dr Hyosun Kwon on +44 (0) 01509 223599 or e-mail h.kwon@lboro.ac.uk
Application Closing Date: 30 March 2020
Please follow this link for details