Open positions

Assistant or Associate professor, Arts Education

27.9.2024

Application closes on

Unit

School of Arts, Design and Architecture

Job category

Faculty, professors

Aalto University is where science and art meet technology and business. We shape a sustainable future by making research breakthroughs in and across our disciplines, sparking the game changers of tomorrow and creating novel solutions to major global challenges. Our community is made up of 13 000 students, 400 professors and close to 4 500 other faculty and staff working on our dynamic campus in Espoo, Greater Helsinki, Finland. Diversity is part of who we are, and we actively work to ensure our community’s diversity and inclusiveness. This is why we warmly encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds to join our community.  

 

Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture (Aalto ARTS) ranks among global leaders in higher education in design, fashion, games, media, architecture, film, art, and art education. We also produce world-class research in art education, design and design thinking, digital media and visual culture, urban planning and architecture. Our graduates are innovators in and beyond their fields, drawing from over a century of applied arts tradition, a humane and forward-looking approach, and the latest technologies. Our campus in Espoo, just west of Helsinki, makes working together within and across disciplines easier than ever before. 

 

The Department of Art and Media conducts research and artistic activities across a broad range of subjects and themes. These include art education, contemporary art, curating, game design, new media, photography, visual communication design and visual culture. The department provides education in Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral levels.  

 

The Department of Art and Media invites applications for the position of: 

 

 Assistant or Associate Professor, Arts Education  

 

The successful candidate will be appointed for an Assistant or Associate Professor position in the Aalto University tenure track system. Aalto’s tenure track principles are explained at www.aalto.fi/en/tenure-track. The position will begin in August 2025 or as agreed, and it is located in the Department of Art and Media.  

 

The department of Art and Media at Aalto University is internationally recognised for its innovative and interdisciplinary high-quality artistic outputs, media productions and art pedagogical activities, scholarship, and research. There is a strong focus on research in contemporary art, media, and arts education and pedagogy in a broad cultural and societal context in collaboration with sciences, digital technologies and business. To maintain its leadership in these areas, Aalto School of Arts, Design and Architecture (ARTS)  has opened a call to find a tenure track or tenured professor in arts education, whose task is to develop research and teaching with high and broad societal impact.   

 

The position is located in the Department of Art and Media with degree programs and doctoral education in the following areas: Art Education; Visual Communication Design; Visual Cultures, Curating and Contemporary Art; Game Design and Development; Photography; Sound in New Media, and New Media. In addition, we have a Bachelor’s programme in Design and Media shared with the Design department and, a Nordic Master in Visual Studies and Art Education (NM NoVA) double degree programme with Aalborg University (Denmark), Erasmus Mundus programme Replay and a unit in Transdisciplinary Art Studies. Education in the Department of Art and Media is provided in English, Finnish and Swedish. The arts educational scholarship in the department is active beyond these programs and follows closely the contemporary national and international developments.  

 

Role and requirements 

The emphasis of the professorship is in the broad and interdisciplinary research and development of arts education nationally with international collaborations. Aalto ARTS and the Department of Art and Media has a leadership role in this development, therefore profiling this professorship for advancing research and societal impact in/through education in the arts, and connecting arts education to other fields such as science, media, or technology. 

 

The Assistant/Associate Professor of Arts Education is expected to be an exceptional pedagogue, researcher and leader familiar with the Finnish, Nordic and international contexts of contemporary arts education and its emerging interdisciplinary dimensions. 

 

The professor will bring their particular expertise to the vibrant community of the Department of Art and Media. The professor is expected to help develop a vision for innovative BA, MA and doctoral education, and guide and strengthen existing research practices at all levels. The position requires active participation in service to the Aalto University community. Experiences or a plan to assume leadership positions in national/international research and professional oragnizations is also part of this professorship. Of particular importance is commitment and focus on societal interactions as well as national and international collaborations. 

 

As an Assistant or Associate Professor, the chosen candidate is expected to carry out and supervise research; to educate students and to participate in curriculum development and lifewide-learning education initiatives. They are expected to introduce students to the complex and versatile relations between arts and pedagogy and support them in advancing the related fields and their interdisciplinary relations. In all levels of the tenure track system, the professor is expected to teach at the doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s level and to exhibit academic leadership. Advancement in the tenure track is based on scheduled performance reviews which consider the candidate’s merits in all these areas. 

 

These criteria are meant to support the holistic evaluation of applicants. This means that an applicant is evaluated on the overall combination and balance across the dimensions relevant to the field and the type of the professorship.  

 

Criteria

For this professorship, the applicant is expected to have: 

  • A doctoral degree in a relevant field 

  • Broad professional knowledge and demonstrated track record in research in Arts Education  

  • Demonstrated teaching experience and pedagogical training at the university level.   

  • Academic and/or professional leadership experience in university education and research, relevant to the level of professorship.   

  • Interdisciplinary collaborations with relevant partners in the field of Arts Education, nationally and internationally relevant to the level of professorship.   

  • Demonstrated ability to acquire research and/or project funding.  

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and/or Finnish are required.  

 

What we offer 

The professor will be part of an inspiring and supportive community of experienced professionals and highly motivated students. The professor will also have the opportunity to use the department’s extensive networks both nationally and internationally, and enjoy our great resources to pursue research, artistic activities, and education with the help of Aalto workshops (https://www.aalto.fi/en/arts-infra). 

 

Aalto University follows the salary system of Finnish universities. The workplace is in Otaniemi, Espoo. As an employer, Aalto University offers excellent learning and development opportunities and occupational health care services.  

 

Ready to apply? 

To apply, we kindly ask you to submit your application materials on 21.11.2024 (Eastern European time UTC +2) at the latest. External applicants please apply using the Aalto online application system (see the "Apply now!" link below). Existing Aalto employees and visitors, please apply using your own internal Aalto user account (go to: Workday -> Career -> find jobs). 

 

The following application materials should be submitted in English (in one PDF format): 

 

The departmental committee will invite the shortlisted applicants to visit the Department of Art and Media in spring 2025 to deliver teaching demonstrations and to be interviewed. In addition, the shortlisted applications will be reviewed by external experts. 

 

For more information 

If you wish to hear more about the position, please contact the Departmental Committee Chair, Professor Anniina Suominen (anniina.suominen(at)aalto.fi). If you have any questions regarding the recruitment process, please contact HR Partner Katja Korpinurmi (katja.korpinurmi(at)aalto.fi).  

 

About Finland 

Finland is an excellent place to live – it is a safe, politically stable, and well-organised Nordic society. Finland is consistently ranked high in terms of the quality of life: http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/finland/ and has been listed as the happiest country in the world: https://worldhappiness.report/news/in-a-lamentable-year-finland-again-is-the-happiest-country-in-the-world/ For more information about living in Finland, please visit the university website: https://www.aalto.fi/services/about-finland. 

 

Check out our new virtual campus experience: https://virtualtour.aalto.fi/!  

 

 

 

 

 

More about Aalto University:

Aalto.fi
youtube.com/user/aaltouniversity
linkedin.com/school/aalto-university/
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instagram.com/aaltouniversity
twitter.com/aaltouniversity

Interested?
Apply now!
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