Associate Professor in Human Behaviour Informatics

The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) invites applications for a Associate Professor in Human Behaviour Informatics at the Institute of Information Systems and Networking (ISIN) within the Department of Innovative Technologies (DTI) located in the new USI-SUPSI Campus in Lugano-Viganello.

Degree of employment 100% with a permanent contract and starting on 1st June 2024, or date to be agreed upon.

At ISIN, we are engaged in a broad spectrum of fields within Computer Science, Data Science, and Engineering. One of our focus points is the digitalisation of products, services, processes and systems in order to support companies in the implementation of disruptive and radical innovation technologies and methodologies, increasing their competitiveness and added value, optimising their operational processes, and the user-experience of workers and consumers. The position offered in this call pursues the line of strategic development oriented toward the use of innovative approaches for the exploitation of human behaviour as main driving factor on the realisation of digital solutions, as well as the synergistic development of research and teaching activities in the field. More in detail, the specialisation of the offered position leverages on the exploitation of technologies and methodologies for the collection and analysis of data pertaining to any directly and indirectly measurable expression of human behaviour, as for example motor skills and mobility, or less tangible mental states like emotions and stress, along with the active conduct of the population. This encompasses measuring, modelling, and interpreting behaviour using sensor-based solutions, data-driven methods, and addressing challenges related to bias, inconsistency, and data scarcity. The main focuses of the institute in this research direction includes: data-driven personalization and profiling, affective computing, physiological data processing, human-in-the-loop based solutions, internet of behavioural things.

Duties and responsibilities

Research

• He/she is a researcher of excellent academic profile combined with the ability to conduct major applied and fundamental research projects in collaboration with other universities and leading innovation companies. With an up-to-date knowledge of the state of the art, he/she is able to develop innovative approaches and solutions when needed. He/she has the ability to transfer research results to industry through demonstrative tools and methods. He/she knows and applies theoretical concepts and operational technologies relevant to the area of knowledge being addressed, making contributions to their development where appropriate. Academically, he/she contributes on an ongoing and relevant basis to the scientific literature in the field, presiding over the development of methodologies and solutions for both human behaviour analysis and human-based digital solutions.
• He/she is able to acquire, coordinate and manage applied research projects, taking care of identifying appropriate funding sources and building robust and relevant partnerships, moving easily across the Swiss academic network in the data science research field, scientific and administrative managing the proposal and projects acquired.
• He/she is able to acquire, coordinate and manage fundamental research projects, where she can identify, contribute to and manage the achievement of scientifically relevant research objectives, contribute to the research output dissemination and manage the exploitation of research output in the applied research context.

Teaching

• He/she is active in teaching where he/she makes significant contributions to basic and continuing education, as well as taking an important role in monitoring the processes of educational delivery.
• He/she is active in scientific and academic communities in the data science field.
• He/she is active in contributing to the continuous evolution of the teaching activities, both in terms of competences in line with the evolving innovations in the field of expertise and in terms of teaching methodologies.
• He/she contributes to the scientific and educational updating of his/her research group with regard to his/her area of expertise.

Management skills

• He/she is capable of scientifically growing its collaborators within its areas of expertise, taking care of their skill development and quality of work in training and research activities.
• He/she promotes collaboration among faculty, researchers and scientific collaborators within his/her area of expertise and transversely, promoting multidisciplinary research projects.
• He/she maintains strong relationships with scientific and industrial partners on the call topics.
• He/she coordinates and manages the scientific, financial and administrative aspects of projects within his/her area of responsibility.

Visibility

• He/she promotes national and international collaborations in the research area of this call.
• His/her work is appreciated nationally and internationally through awards, recognition and participation in organizing committees of dissemination initiatives.
• He/she contribute actively to the dissemination of his/her research work and output and innovative research directions providing talks to both scientific and non-scientific audience.

Requirements

Essential

• Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Information Technologies or related disciplines required.
• At least ten years of experience as a researcher and lecturer in the relevant scientific/technical area including data science and its application in the analysis of human behaviour.
• As a lecturer, it is required that he/she has taught courses at the undergraduate level, obtaining positive evaluations and having direct responsibility for them, including defining the content, syllabus, teaching materials and student evaluation.
• As an applied researcher, it is required that, in the research area of this call, he/she has been/are responsible for scientific projects and has achieved relevant results in terms of: publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals, participated in international conferences, obtained and developed international patents, prototypes and innovative solutions that have received independent third-party evaluation.
• He/she provides evidence of his/her ability to transfer the results of his/her research activities to the research and industrial world.
• The candidate must show proven ability as a leader, having had scientific responsibility for a research group in the scientific area of this call. He/she must also be able to demonstrate teaching authority by being a valued and recognized lecturer in his/her field.
• The candidate must demonstrate strong theoretical and practical expertise in the field of Data Science: strong knowledge of both fundamental and latest state-of-the-art algorithms and methodologies, and strong knowledge on the operative development and deployment of data science based solutions.
• He/she must demonstrate proven ability to build bridges and synergies between his/her research and teaching activities.
• He/she is internationally recognized as a reference person in his/her scientific area.
• Language skills: excellent knowledge of Italian (or demonstrates a desire to acquire it) and English.

Preferred

• Experience as thesis advisor (Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctoral) or tutor of undergraduate students.
• Production of materials to support teaching such as handouts (in various forms), books, publications.
• Having covered roles of responsibility in teaching such as head of undergraduate course, module, courses including continuing education, etc.
• Having covered responsible roles in research such as institute head, competence center, laboratory, area, service, etc.
• Qualification for teaching by UAS teaching qualification in place or in the process of being obtained (qualification must be obtained in the year following appointment).

We offer

• A prestigious position at an internationally recognized University of Applied Sciences with a permanent employment contract.
• A challenging training and applied research position with a high degree of autonomy and responsibility in a highly innovative and dynamic university environment.
• A team of motivated and highly experienced and skilled colleagues.
• Opportunities to grow within the institution by filling roles of increasing responsibility.

Applications Requirements

The requirements for this function are published as part of SUPSI’s employee regulations on the page “Documenti ufficiali”.

Further inquiries can be directed to:

Prof. Dr. Milena Properzi, DTI Director

Applicants should submit the following documents:

• Motivation letter in Italian or English.
• Complete CV in Italian or English according to the template (word or PDF);
• List of scientific publications and exemplary works and links or copies of the aforementioned works.
• List of acquired research projects, including their financial dimension.
• Educational diplomas and work certificates.
• Awards and mentions.
• At least two reference letters that prove the professional, scientific and teaching quality.
• Presentation of the didactic activities carried out at university level with relative evaluations.
• A criminal record with a 6-month validity must be provided. Taking into account the time necessary for the issuing of this document by the competent office, it will be sufficient to enclose with the application a copy of the request accompanied by a self-declaration and send the original document (to risorseumane@supsi.ch) as soon as possible, or, at the latest, during the first selection interview. For Swiss citizens and Swiss residents, the record can be requested at the Federal Office of Justice in Bern, www.casellario.admin.ch.

Applications will be considered only if submitted electronically within March 31st, 2024, through the appropriate form.
Applications that are incomplete, submitted to other addresses, or submitted beyond the deadline, will be not accepted.