Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS), Faculty of Digital Media and Creative Industries, is currently looking to fill the following vacancy for the Digital Society School (DSS)

Senior Track Associate (Trainer/Researcher) at Digital Society School within the Systems for Sharing Track (0,4 - 0,8 FTE)

An exciting opportunity at Digital Society School, for an experienced candidate who holds a PhD in a relevant field and has extensive experience in both research and (professional) training.

This is your chance to have one foot in the academic world and one in practice, while having impact on the future generation of transformation designers in our digital society!

Systems for Sharing Track
If we share, everyone wins. The slogan of the Creative Commons initiative is a fine illustration of the power of sharing, commons and a focus on a society for all.  

Some of the most urgent challenges the world faces today are part of complex social systems. and include inequality, racism, social isolation, health hazards and climate change. Not to mention that billions of people are often still unable to meet their basic needs for food, water, and housing.

More and more Social Systems communities, organizations, and local governments are taking action to address these challenges by exercising a basic human practice: sharing. By sharing their labor, space, goods, and more, people are overcoming scarcity by building and maintaining vital common resources. They show that sharing can lead everyone to have more, together.

In the complex digital society that has evolved in the past decades, sharing may seem to have become easier by the rise of digital systems. However, in recent years we have also all experienced that issues such as trust, privacy, undemocratic power divide us and that greed has been in the way. There is a need for fairer, more responsible and accountable systems (both online and offline) that facilitate the commons and a culture of sharing. 

In this Track we will work on technical, digital and social systems. We create proof of concepts, prototypes and do applied research to support ’systems for sharing’ in the light of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We will also train organizations and professionals to adopt a different mindset and be able to stimulate a sharing culture within their work environment or community. 

The position
The Senior Track Associate has a central role in the Track since he or she has a big influence on the direction the Track takes, in terms of: technology, societal challenges, state of the art analysis, research questions, knowledge creation and dissemination.

In Short you will:  

Conduct applied research on societal challenges regarding the topic of the Track, in close collaboration with industry and social stakeholders. Supervise applied research done by team members;

Teach professionals and learners in professional programmes and modules, such as hackathons and digital camps about topics related to the Track theme;

Train and expand people’s skillset in applied research, design and design thinking, business acumen, distributed systems, digital commons, growth hacking or technology-related topics;

Share your research and knowledge. For example via international platforms, MOOCS and publications.

You will:

• work very closely with the Track Owner and the DSS core-team;
• create a state of the art vision on how digital technology impacts society and how systems can be designed to make society fairer, more inclusive, responsible, accountable and democratic;
• bring knowledge on key values in a digital world, such as privacy, accuracy, transparency and security;
• recruit, hire and supervise three post-master level trainees in transformation design, and account for their applied research output and quality assessment;
• collect, analyze and interpret Track-wide research data and (co)author reports and publications;
• contribute to the content and output of the Track, including products, prototypes, knowledge, learning materials and publications;
• co-organise ‘Digital Camps’, summer schools, design jams and hackathons;
• teach & train professionals and executives in professional programmes for organisations and individuals;
• be part of a team that creates the various learning modules within the Track;
• bring in relevant academic expertise, on the intersections of digital technology and specific societal challenges;
• translate expertise and research output from the Track to valuable insights and learning materials;
• signal trends in digital society and co-design projects with Track Owner;
• develop tools, methods and instruments that enables digital technology to work for society;
• form effective research collaborations with the academic world; both local in Amsterdam as national and global.

You are:

• a professional with a PhD with relevant experience both in academia and practice;
• up to date and informed about topics such as distributed systems (from a technical and social perspective), blockchain, platform economy, shared economy, distributed architecture, privacy and security in a digital society and related social challenges and impact;
• capable of solving complex problems;
• able to brief, monitor and communicate with full-stack developers and designers;
• a true team player and guide of team processes and a believer in the notion that true excellence is never the work of one genius alone;
• a coach and supervisor with attention for team member needs, project needs and a sense of humor;
• experienced with both applied and academic research;
• passionate to make learning a meaningful and truly transformational experience, while you understand that learning experiences need to be human-centered, friendly and engaging;
• convinced that technology should be used in a meaningful way to transform society;
• able to co-design learning programs, and guide team processes.

Fixed-term contract: 3 years.

This position is temporary, for three years, based on the duration of the track. The activities meet the job description for Docent/Onderzoeker 2. This appointment is made at an entry level and the salary comes under pay scale 11, (CAO HBO, collective labour agreement for universities of applied sciences). The position is a (0.4- 0,8) fte position.

AUAS offers an extensive package of employee benefits, including a generous holiday allowance and payment of a 13th month. Via the AUAS Academy, AUAS also offers excellent opportunities for study and personal development.

Leren, werken en leven in Amsterdam zijn bij de HvA op een vanzelfsprekende manier met elkaar verbonden. De HvA is een grootstedelijke hogeschool waar studenten, docenten en onderzoekers vanuit verschillende invalshoeken en disciplines samenwerken met elkaar en met bedrijven, organisaties en (kennis)instellingen.

Digital Society School
The Digital Society School (DSS) is a growing multidisciplinary community of learners, creators and designers ready to have a positive impact on business and a sustainable human-centered digital society. As a Senior Track Associate, you will work in a leadership role as a duo, with the Track Owner (responsible for the organization of the track). You will build a team consisting of three Post-Master Trainees, a consortium of participating companies and organizations, and a rotating group of 15 participating learners per semester in collaborative projects. For more information on the DSS and our Tracks click here.