Associate Professor in Sustainability of Industrial Processes

The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) invites applications for a Associate Professor in Sustainability of Industrial Processes at the Institute of Systems and Technologies for Sustainable Production (ISTePS) within the Department of Innovative Technologies (DTI) located in Lugano.

Degree of employment 60% to 80%. Contract start June 1st 2024, or date to be agreed upon.

The Institute of Systems and Technologies for Sustainable Production has as its core the innovation of products, production processes, manufacturing systems and business models in order to support companies in addressing economic, environmental and social challenges, increasing their competitiveness and added value, reducing consumption and emissions, and improving the safety, health and well-being of workers and consumers. The position offered in this call pursues the line of strategic development oriented toward the use of innovative approaches to the sustainability of industrial processes and related products, as well as the synergistic development of research and teaching activities in the field.

Duties and responsibilities

Research

• He/she is a researcher of excellent academic profile combined with the ability to conduct major 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 user-friendly tools and methods. He/she knows and applies regulations and standards 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 methods and solutions for both performance analysis and improvement of the sustainability profile of processes and products.
• He/she is able to acquire, coordinate and manage applied research projects, taking care of identifying appropriate funding sources, building robust and relevant partnerships, and scientific and administrative management of the proposal and projects acquired.
• He/she is able to acquire, coordinate and manage industrial projects, where he/she can analyze and understand the needs of the company and model the problem to be solved.

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 at national and international levels.
• 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.
• He/she maintains multi-year 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 national and international conferences and dissemination initiatives.

Requirements

Essential

• Ph.D. degree in Industrial Engineering or related disciplines required.
• At least ten years of experience as a researcher and lecturer in the relevant scientific/technical area
• 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 numerous international conferences, obtained and developed international patents, prototypes and/or artifacts 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 industrial world.
• The candidate must show proven ability as a leader, having had managerial and 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.
• 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.