[Commlist] Vacancy Research Professor in City Science at KU Leuven

    RESEARCH PROFESSOR IN 'CITY SCIENCE' (BOFZAP) AT KU LEUVEN

Description Vacancy to be found at the KU Leuven 
Jobsitehttps://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/jobs/55410242?hl=en&lang=en

The KU Leuven is looking for international and interdisciplinary 
candidates with a background in city science/urban studies, an excellent 
research record, very good teaching skills, and the know-how to build an 
innovative center of academic research. You will be appointed at the 
Faculty of Social Sciences, but are expected to develop partnerships 
with various faculties at KU Leuven.

*Background*

More than half of the world's population lives in cities; it is 
predicted that in the coming decades this will rise to 70-80%. 
‘Sustainable cities and communities' is part of the official UN 
Sustainable Development agenda; SDG11 aims to "Make cities inclusive, 
safe, resilient and sustainable". Cities play a crucial role in the 
future organization of our society. The American political scientist 
Benjamin Barber predicts in 'If mayors ruled the world' (2013) that 
nation states will lose more and more power to cities, because cities 
often have a more pragmatic, problem-solving scale and approach, and 
technology and globalization tend to dismantle the power of the 
nation-state (Ballon, 2016). Cities therefore take the lead in many 
areas (such as climate and migration issues), supported by new and 
influential networks (cf. Eurocites; Covenant of mayors for climate and 
energy). At the same time, urban renewal is also strongly driven by 
grassroots initiatives. Central to thinking about the city of the future 
(see Anthopoulos, 2015; Giffinger et al, 2007; Chourabi et al 2012; 
David, 2016) are : - Governance and government; e.g. the collaborative 
role of city governments in creating economically viable and safe towns 
and cities; - Society and community; e.g. the formation of an inclusive 
city with a range of quality education, health and welfare services for 
various population groups; - The environment and natural resources; - 
Urban development, mobility and infrastructure. In order for modern 
cities to flourish, innovative solutions are needed. In the literature, 
the concept of 'smart cities' tends to be used for this purpose, 
predominantly referring to the technological dimension. However, 
technology is not an end in itself, but a means of creating the city of 
the future. This requires a focus on the social, political and cultural 
processes in which technology is implemented. In the urban studies of 
the past decade, this is reflected in the exploration of, for example, 
the city as a 'learning machine', processes of multi-scale and 
polycentric infrastructure, and the physical and digital materiality of 
various forms of urban, civic or spatial governmentality. This vacancy 
can be regarded part of a growing trend of top universities (including 
MIT) to focus on the study of the city and thus enable an 
interdisciplinary approach to urban problems, based on a thorough and 
high-quality research strategy. The focus is not so much on megacities, 
but on large and medium-sized cities, as well as on the relationship 
between the city and rural areas.

Website unit <https://soc.kuleuven.be/>


          Duties


            Research

  * You are an excellent, internationally oriented researcher in the
    field of city science/urban studies, interested in theoretical
    and/or methodological questions concerning urban problems.
    Preferably, the focus of the research lies with central themes, such
    as governance and government, society and community, environment and
    natural resources, urban development and infrastructure. Rather than
    a purely technological approach, we expect an approach based on
    social and behavioral sciences, with an emphasis on institutional,
    social, and ethical dimensions.
  * You will explore new methodologies for researching urban problems,
    such as living labs/city labs and action research.
  * You are expected to strengthen relevant research networks within KU
    Leuven and to position KU Leuven as a center of excellence in this
    field, following the example of high quality universities worldwide.
  * You are responsible for starting up new research and PhD projects,
    as well as for acquiring external funding.
  * You have a strong interest in fundamental research, but also pay
    attention to the valorization and application of your research
    through contacts with policy makers, business leaders, and civil
    society actors. You develop a network with professional contacts
    that add value to your research.


            Education

In line with your expertise and research, you will contribute to the 
educational programs of the Faculty of Social Sciences as well as of 
other faculties.

You will supervise master's theses as a promoter and in this way inspire 
and motivate future generations of students with the importance of city 
science/urban studies.

Valorization of research results is done by contributing to various 
forms of lifelong learning, e.g. postgraduate courses, open courses, 
or conferences.


            Service

You will develop a strategy for the establishment of an International 
Knowledge Centre for the study of cities at KU Leuven. This 
knowledge center can count on start-up funding from KU Leuven and 
patronage funds, but will also be largely self-sufficient by attracting 
external funding.

The candidate will, in this respect, set up an interfaculty knowledge 
center within the Humanities and Social Sciences group and, by extension 
the university.


          Requirements

  * You have a PhD in a relevant research area, preferably with a
    background in one of the Social Sciences (e.g. public
    administration; political science; sociology; communication
    sciences; anthropology; social geography;...). The high quality of
    your research is demonstrated by publications in leading
    international journals, edited volumes or monographs.
  * You have a track record of acquiring competitive research
    grants.International experience is an important advantage.
  * You have demonstrated skills related to academic teaching.
  * You have organizational skills and a cooperative attitude.
  * You have leadership skills within a university context and worldwide
    academic networks.

The official administrative language used at KU Leuven is Dutch. If you 
do not speak Dutch (or do not speak it well) at the start of employment, 
KU Leuven will provide language training to enable you to take part in 
administrative meetings.

Before teaching courses in Dutch or English, you will be given the 
opportunity to learn Dutch respectively English to the required standard.


          Offer

We are offering a fulltime employment in an intellectually challenging 
environment. KU Leuven is a research-intensive, internationally oriented 
university that carries out both fundamental and applied scientific 
research. It is highly inter- and multidisciplinarily focused 
and strives for international excellence. In this regard, it actively 
works together with research partners in Belgium and abroad. It provides 
its students with an academic education that is based on high-quality 
scientific research.

You will work in Leuven, a historic, dynamic and lively city located in 
the heart of Belgium, within 20 minutes from Brussels, the capital 
of the European Union, and less than two hours from Paris, London and 
Amsterdam.

Depending on your record and qualifications, you will be appointed to or 
tenured in one of the ranks of the professorial academic 
staff: assistant professor, associate professor, professor or full 
professor. In principle, junior researchers are appointed as assistant 
professor on the tenure track for a period of 5 years; after this period 
and a positive evaluation, they are permanently appointed (or tenured) 
as an associate professor..


          Interested?


          Apply online

Online applications only, please 
seehttps://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/jobs/55410242?hl=en&lang=en

*More information?*

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Steven Eggermont, academic 
contact person (email:(steven.eggermont /at/ kuleuven.be) 
<mailto:(steven.eggermont /at/ kuleuven.be)>, tel. +32 16 32 32 38).
For more information on guidelines and application procedure please 
contact Mrs. Kristin Vermeylen ((kristin.vermeylen /at/ kuleuven.be) 
<mailto:(kristin.vermeylen /at/ kuleuven.be)>, tel. +32 16 32 09 07) or Mrs. 
Christelle Maeyaert ((christelle.maeyaert /at/ kuleuven.be) 
<mailto:(christelle.maeyaert /at/ kuleuven.be)>, tel. +32 16 31 41 94).

More detailed information is available on following website 
<https://www.kuleuven.be/onderzoek/gedocumenteerd/index_en.html#details/8804ED45A9A342B9EB665ED29EC90D36CE3D57DD>

KU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, 
regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or 
impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or 
support, please contact us (atdiversiteit.HR /at/ kuleuven.be) 
<mailto:(diversiteit.HR /at/ kuleuven.be)>.

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