Bergen Academy of Art and Design. Photo by Peter Klasson.

Bergen Academy of Art and Design

Application deadline: 11 April 2014

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Bergen Academy of Art and Design
Bergen Academy of Art and Design (KHiB) is a leading arena for innovative thinking and experimental artistic research and education. KHiB offers BA and MA degree programmes in art and design, and it educates research fellows as part of the Norwegian Artistic Research Fellowship Programme. Artistic research is an important, high profile and integral part of KHiB's focus. Through systematic research, Bergen Academy of Art and Design contributes to expanding the limits of our knowledge in the field of art and design.

KHiB has organized its activities in two departments: the Department of Fine Art and the Department of Design. KHiB has high professional ambitions and interacts with local, national and international networks. It has around 350 students and more than 100 members of staff. All KHiB's activities will be co-located in one new building in 2017.

Department of Design
A broad range of expression, open discourse and critical discussion characterizes the Department of Design. The relationship between theory and practice, the development of a relevant set of concepts and striking a balance between production and reflection all have a central place in our design education.

The Department of Design offers programmes in visual communication and furniture and spatial design / interior architecture. An academic staff with wide-ranging backgrounds and who are themselves practising designers in Norway and internationally is a prerequisite for the department’s dynamic teaching environment. The artistic research conducted by members of the academic staff plays a central role in and forms the basis for teaching.

The Department of Design offers approximately 150 places at BA and MA level in addition to research fellowships affiliated to the Norwegian Artistic Research Fellowship Programme.

The department has a wide selection of workshops that are used for both teaching and artistic research. Workshop staff members ensure the continuous development and upgrading of knowledge about materials within the context of a complex design discourse.

The Department of Design initiates and implements large-scale design research projects, some of which are based on external funding. A dean, who is responsible for teaching and for the department’s artistic research profile, heads the department.

Part of the working time of the academic staff at Bergen Academy of Art and Design is reserved for artistic research, therefore considerable resources devoted to this area. Candidates must have the ability to engage in research at the highest international level. Forty per cent of the professor / associate professor's working hours are set aside for artistic research.

The person appointed will have a responsibility to engage in artistic research in her or his field. Initiating collaboration and maintaining contact with educational institutions and other relevant partners are also important responsibilities. The person appointed will be expected to provide input that can enhance academic discourse at Bergen Academy of Art and Design, and to promote the institution externally – among other things, by collaborating and maintaining contact with other educational institutions. Candidates are expected to provide input that contributes to strengthening the institution's academic discourse, and to contribute to disseminating artistic research through professional local, national and international networks.

Position as associate professor / professor
Applicants must have sound and wide-ranging knowledge of one or more of the fields covered by the subject area.

The professor / associate professor of interaction design should be conceptually oriented and have broad design experience in several of the following areas: web design, user experience, interaction design, interactive and new media, natural interfaces, system design and social media.

The professor / associate professor of interaction design should be conceptually oriented and have a broad design experience in several of the following areas: web design, user experience, interaction design, interactive and new media, natural interfaces, system design and social media.

Candidates must be able to express themselves in relevant design-related discourses and be able to see new visual possibilities in interaction design. Special emphasis will be placed on an understanding why communication is seen as a prerequisite for interaction design and related ethical issues.

Candidates who believe that digital tools offer enhanced possibilities of highlighting and solving social and cultural questions from an analytical and critical perspective will be favoured. Experience of HTML/CSS or other forms of interactive visual prototyping is an advantage. Applicants with an educational approach to open source methods are also welcome to apply.

We are looking for a highly motivated designer with the ability to inspire and encourage our students. The candidate will lead courses and seminars at both BA and MA level, including individual and group supervision of students. Together with members of staff, the professor / associate professor of interaction design will be responsible for courses covering software instruction, methodology, web and system design, information visualisation and digital editorial publishing.

Experience of prototyping, the visualisation and processing of information, interactive storytelling and other work at the intersection between design, technology and culture will be seen as positive.

As a member of the academic staff, the professor / associate professor of interaction design is expected to administer the subject area and to actively contribute to developing its profile and programme. The professor / associate professor will be an important resource in relation to generating development in the subject area through close communication with colleagues and students in the department, in cooperation with KHiB's other subject areas.

The appointment is for a fixed term of six years.

Requirements of applicants
The following requirements apply to the position:

• Good cooperation skills, with the emphasis on dialogue and inclusive professional communication
• Well-considered attitudes to and visions for design-related / artistic research
• Teaching ability and enthusiasm.

Emphasis will also be placed on:

• The ability to see the subject area from an overall societal and theoretical perspective
• Perspectives on higher education in art and design
• Organisational skills and experience

The following requirements apply to the position as professor:

• Extensive design competence on a par with the foremost international designers
• Activity of a high standard in a broad segment of the subject area
• Teaching experience, preferably from higher education or other dissemination of design/artistic practice

The following requirements apply to the position as associate professor:

• Documented design practice / research of a high international standard with in-depth specialisation that is relevant to the subject area / position
• Education at the highest level in the subject area from Norway, equivalent education from abroad or corresponding documented knowledge
• One-year programme in educational theory and practice or experience of teaching / academic supervision at a lower and/or higher level

Applicants must document their ability to work in a structured manner with design assignments.

Requirements concerning the application
Applicants must describe their qualifications in areas that are relevant and important to the position (see the section about requirements of applicants), including a description of their intentions and goals for the fixed term appointment. It is important that applicants clarify their standpoint in relation to the subject area and set out their views on its positions and possibilities.

Expert evaluation
An expert committee will evaluate the applicants’ professional qualifications. Bergen Academy of Art and Design has adopted separate guidelines for such evaluations. Potential candidates will be asked to attend an interview with an internal group.

Salary and working conditions etc.
The salary for the position of professor (1013) is salary grade 68 to 75 on the pay scale for state employees (currently NOK 578,800 to 666,400).
The salary for the position of associate professor (1011) is salary grade 57 to 65 on the pay scale for state employees (currently NOK 473,400 to 548,700).

A higher salary can be considered for particularly well-qualified applicants. A statutory contribution of 2% to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund is deducted from the salary.

The appointment will be made on the terms and conditions that apply to civil servants at all times. The person appointed must comply with the regulations that apply to the position at all times, including organisational and administrative affiliation. If the person appointed does not speak a Scandinavian language, he or she will be required to take tuition in the Norwegian language during the first year of employment.

The ratio between teaching-related activity and artistic research is regulated for each individual position, including a requirement for how much the person in question must be present at the institution. The breakdown of working hours is specified in the individual annual work plan that is drawn up in consultation between the individual member of the academic staff and the dean. For professors / associate professors who are employed in a position that is 50% or more, 40% of working hours are allocated to artistic research. The dean coordinates all the study programmes offered at the department.

The civil service shall as far as possible reflect the diversity of the population as a whole. It is therefore a policy goal to achieve a balanced age and gender distribution and recruitment from immigrant backgrounds. People from immigrant backgrounds are therefore encouraged to apply.

In accordance with Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act, we hereby inform you that information about applicants may be made public even if applicants have asked not to be included on the list of applicants. In such case, applicants will be notified of this in advance.

KHiB offers an interesting and demanding position in an environment characterised by a high level of activity, professional challenges and good cooperation. We offer good pension, insurance and loan arrangements from the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

For further information about the position, please contact the dean, Mona Larsen, by telephone: (+47) 55 58 73 00.

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