Lecturer / Senior Lecturer: Teaching Focused lectureship in Bioinformatics (Dubai) - Centre for Comp

Position Details

Centre for Computational Biology, Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences

University of Birmingham, Dubai campus

Salary: Competitive

Grade 8/9

Full time

Permanent

Location: Dubai, UAE

Closing date: 22 April 2021

University of Birmingham Dubai

An opportunity has arisen to become part of the University of Birmingham and to join our mission to deliver a world-class British university education in the global city and international hub of Dubai. We opened a campus in Dubai in November 2017, becoming the first global top 100 and Russell Group University to establish a campus in this rapidly developing international education hub. The University of Birmingham Dubai provides opportunities for students to study on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes to the same recognised standards as those delivered on our UK campus.

Having established ourselves in Dubai International Academic City in we are now moving to a new and exciting phase of our development with the opening of our new state-of-the-art campus in September 2021. Our Phase 2 Dubai campus opening in 2021 will provide an academic home for up to 2,900 students, a community for Birmingham alumni in the region and a hub for local and global outreach and engagement activities.

This post represents an excellent opportunity to join an ambitious World Top 100 University as we continue to grow our long-term strategic mission in Dubai, the UAE and the wider region. Our campus reflects the very best of Birmingham through our presence in Dubai.

Background

An opportunity has arisen to become part of the University of Birmingham and to join our mission to deliver a world-class British university education in the global city and international hub of Dubai. We opened a campus in Dubai in November 2017, becoming the first global top 100 and Russell Group University to establish a campus in this rapidly developing international education hub. The University of Birmingham Dubai provides opportunities for students to study on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes to the same recognised standards as those delivered on our UK campus.

Our Phase 2 Dubai campus opening in 2021 will provide an academic home for up to 2,900 students, a community for Birmingham alumni in the region and a hub for local and global outreach and engagement activities.

As programme Director for the MSc Bioinformatics in Dubai, the post-holder will work closely with the Centre for Computational Biology (CCB) which has been delivering the programme in Birmingham to ensure the delivery of the programme on the Dubai campus.

The MSc in Bioinformatics programme face-to-face delivery has been very successful, with the number of students increasing by 50% year-on-year. The programme has been delivered by the CCB with contributions from both the colleges of Medical and Dental Sciences as well as Life and Environmental Sciences. Expanding upon this success, the new MSc Bioinformatics programme will launch in Dubai in September 2021. Further, a new Distance Learning (DL) version will be launched in partnership with Wiley in October 2021.

The CCB is a cross-college initiative combining multiple disciplines across the University and its partners to maximise the analysis and application of Data Science for the Life Sciences, focusing on Development, Application, and Training. The CCB aims to promote excellence in Computational Biology, Systems Biology, and Bioinformatics across the range of fundamental and applied sciences, in both the University and allied Health Care arenas. It federates expertise through world class, independent and collaborative research, as well as teaching to a broad audience, ranging from undergraduates to health care professionals. The CCB provides an environment, both physical and structural, to its ~60 members to foster collaborative work and cross-fertilisation.

Based on the UoB Dubai (UoBD) campus and affiliated with the CCB, the post holder will lead the delivery of the whole MSc Bioinformatics programme on the Dubai campus. This will be done in close alignment with the CCB, to ensure consistency and integration of the various programme delivery modes. The post holder will contribute to the taught components of the programme in Dubai according to their specific expertise and will lead of the 60 credit Individual project module.

Job Summary

The post-holder will contribute to the whole range of teaching and administration of the MSc Bioinformatics at the University of Birmingham in Dubai, in coordination with the CCB.

Based on the UoB Dubai campus, the post holder will act as Programme Director. They will be expected to contribute according to their subject knowledge to the taught modules comprising the programme and will lead the MSc Bioinformatics, Individual Project and eventually develop new modules akin to this programme and/or complementary to other related programmes. They will be essential in developing the activity locally and keeping an active link with the staff delivering the teaching and research in Birmingham, mostly through the CCB.

Therefore, teaching includes a substantial contribution to: (a) the management, development (including programme/module review) and delivery of teaching and assessment; and (b) enhancement of the student experience or employability. The role will typically also involve developing and advising others, including: (a) providing expert advice to staff and students, (b) supervising and examining PhD students, and (c) developing and advising others on learning and teaching tasks and methods.

The post holder will commit 10% of their time to research either in Bioinformatics or pedagogy and in either case will develop research links in the region. The research will be reflected in a growing national reputation and often an incipient international reputation, thus promoting the reputation of the MSc Bioinformatics in Dubai and the region.

Management and administration are likely to involve contributions at the UoB Dubai and CCB level, and/or making an important contribution to some managerial/leadership activities (e.g. working groups) within the University. This may include developing and making substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, public engagement, widening participation, school outreach, or similar activities at CCB level or further within the University.

Main Duties

The post-holder will:

• Lead the establishment of the MSc Bioinformatics in Dubai; and
• Lead the curriculum development and/or renewal; and
• Lead key modules in the programme; and
• Provide substantial contribution to teaching in multiple modules of the programme; and
• Develop and manage approaches to teaching and learning that are innovative to the subject area or institution; and
• Undertake and develop a full range of responsibilities in relation to research supervision, marking and examining; and
• Advise others on aspects of learning, teaching and assessment; and
• Deliver (where appropriate to the discipline) specific professional programmes; and
• Advance the practice of teaching in their modules and within the Centre, and play an important role in student academic support; and
• Inform their teaching practice by discipline-based research; and
• Frequently update their own subject expertise, and undertake personal professional development in teaching, including self-reflection on own teaching, using student and peer review feedback, to enhance own teaching and learning processes; and
• Typically carry a higher teaching load than those staff who carry out both teaching and research; and

In addition, they will play an important role in the recruitment and admission of students; and co-supervise, with a research-focused or research and teaching focused member of staff, doctoral students to completion.

Management/Administration

To contribute to Centre and UoBD administration or have a high level of responsibility for others. This may include:

• Contribute to the administration/management of research and/or teaching across the CCB and UoBD
• Lead and manage a team to devise and implement a new and/or revised process (e.g. new programme or a recruitment drive)
• Advise on personal development of colleagues and students
• Make a major contribution to some administrative activities within the University (e.g. appeals panels, working groups)
• Manage enterprise, business development, and public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the CCB, College and University
• Develop and make substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, public engagement, widening participation, school outreach.
• Actively manages equality, diversity and inclusion through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenging unacceptable behaviour

Person Specification

• PhD or equivalent experience in Bioinformatics, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Sciences or related fields
• Extensive research and teaching experience and scholarship within subject specialism
• Proven ability to devise, advise on and manage learning and research
• Skills in managing, motivating and mentoring others successfully at all levels

Teaching

• Ability to design, deliver, assess and revise teaching programmes.
• Extensive experience and demonstrated success in developing appropriate approaches to learning and teaching, and advising colleagues
• Experience and success in knowledge transfer, enterprise and similar activity that enhances the student experience or employability

Management Administration

• Ability to contribute to School/Departmental management processes
• Ability to assess and organise resources effectively
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
• Experience of championing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in own work area
• Ability to monitor and evaluate the extent to which equality and diversity legislation, policies, procedures are applied
• Ability to identify issues with the potential to impact on protected groups and take appropriate action

In return, you will receive a competitive package and be a key part of an expanding and ambitious University as we develop our international reputation and global footprint.

This is a full-time post, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The University of Birmingham is an Athena Swan Bronze award holder and committed to providing a supportive work environment for our staff and providing equal opportunities in our recruitment process.

We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds and will take flexible working option into consideration during the process.

Further details relating to this position as well as our developing Dubai Campus can be found at http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/dubai/work-with-us/index.aspx

For informal enquiries, please contact Professor Jean-Baptiste Cazier, Chair of Bioinformatics/Director of the Centre for Computational Biology - email: j.cazier@bham.ac.uk (Birmingham) and Professor David Sadler, Provost (Dubai campus) - email d.w.sadler@bham.ac.uk (Dubai)

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment

We value diversity at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community