Job Description

This position is a part of the Association of the Academic Staff of the University of Alberta (AASUA).

Location

Work primarily takes place at North Campus, Edmonton. This role is in-person.

Working at the University of Alberta

Edmonton and the University of Alberta are situated on Treaty 6 territory, homeland of the M\xc3\xa9tis, and traditional meeting ground and home for many Indigenous Peoples, including Cree, Saulteaux, Blackfoot, Dene, and Nakota Sioux. Established in 1908 as a board-governed, public institution, the University of Alberta has earned the reputation of being one of the best universities in Canada based on strengths in teaching, research, and service. The University is a recent signatory to the Scarborough Charter, which confirms a commitment to fostering Black flourishing and sustained commitment to redress anti-Black racism and to promote Black inclusion.

The University\'s main campus is located in Edmonton, Alberta\'s capital city. The Edmonton metropolitan area is the sixth largest in Canada, with a population of nearly 1.5 million people. It has the second largest Indigenous population of any city in Canada. There is a vibrant computer game industry in Edmonton, which includes companies such as BioWare, Inflexion, and BeamDog, and a host of independent game companies. Many of these companies and employees collaborate with the university in games teaching and research.

Working for the Faculty

Media and Technology Studies, which includes the Certificate in Computer Game Development, serves a broad range of undergraduate students from across the University of Alberta with approximately 210 majors. Faculty members in MTS maintain strong connections to research projects and scholarly initiatives in units across the University. The Digital Humanities program currently has five full time academic faculty members, including a Canada 150 Chair in Gender and Cultural Informatics. The program currently has approximately 60 graduate students. The University of Alberta is ranked second in the world in terms of technical games research by publication-based rankings ( ).

DH and MTS are housed in the Faculty of Arts, which is the oldest and most diverse faculty on campus and is one of the largest research and teaching centres in Western Canada ( ). A guiding principle of the Faculty of Arts is that we must work together to foster a welcoming, equitable, and antiracist working and learning environment. We acknowledge that diversity in Indigeneity, race, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, language, and disability is key to our excellence in learning, teaching, research, service, and community engagement. We commit to taking deliberate action towards dismantling the conditions that allow for structural oppression and racism to persist.

Position Summary

(MTS) and (DH) at the University of Alberta invite applications for a full-time tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor specializing in Experimental Video Game Design. The starting date for the position is 1 July 2024.

The successful candidate will have expertise in experimental video game design with a strong track record of creative practice and game development. Potential areas of research interest include experimental game mechanics, art games, serious games, games-related installations, notgames, and critical games. Research and practice in board games, organized play, and games as cultural phenomena that complements the applicant\'s expertise in video game design will be viewed as an asset. The successful candidate will be an active game maker with strong technical skills in game design and development. They will have expertise in a variety of game tools and engines.

The successful candidate will teach existing undergraduate courses in our Certificate in Computer Game Development and graduate courses in our Digital Humanities program. They will also develop and teach new courses, including capstone and practicum courses, suitable for both programs.

Teaching: 4 courses per year. Usual non-teaching duties. Salary will be commensurate with experience and qualifications in accordance with the Faculty Agreement as per the negotiated salary scales:

and benefits:

The successful candidate will have the following qualifications:

• A graduate degree in game design, game studies, media studies, digital humanities or a closely related field taking one or more of the following forms:

• a PhD or an equivalent degree is preferred (applicants who are ABD with a strong expectation of degree completion by 1 July 2024 will be considered);
• a terminal Master\'s degree with significant and demonstrable game design experience will be considered for exceptional candidates.

• A strong track record of video game making, especially experimental video games, which includes expertise in game engine environments, such as Unity or Unreal.

• An innovative and robust research program demonstrated by a strong record of publications and presentations in important venues suitable to the candidate\'s career stage and appropriate to their research priorities, a successful research funding history (especially in the case of applicants who already hold a tenure-track position), and a clear plan for future research;

• Excellence in teaching and mentorship suitable to the candidate\'s career stage, as demonstrated by a teaching portfolio that includes teaching evaluations, a statement of the candidate\'s approach to teaching, and sample course outlines; and

• A commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) as demonstrated by active and intentional practice within the applicant\'s research, teaching, and/or service.

The search committee would view as positive candidates who have demonstrable expertise or proven potential to develop expertise in one or more of the following areas:

• success with widening participation activities, such as coding or game-making clubs, for marginalized communities;
• partnerships with creative industries, cultural institutions (such as museums or galleries), technology companies, and media/arts institutions;
• industry experience;
• expertise in broadly accessible game making tools, such as Godot, Twine, RenPy, Bitsy, etc.; and
• experience with experimental physical computing, such as designing alternative input systems.

How to Apply

To have your application considered, please click the Apply Online icon below and submit the following:

• Cover letter that includes highlights of the candidate\'s profile and the names of three referees;
• Curriculum vitae (CV) that includes a list of publications and conference presentations;
• Research statement that outlines main areas of current and future research (submit under \xe2\x80\x9cResearch Plan\xe2\x80\x9d);
• Portfolio of games produced or links to such games on distribution platforms, such as Steam or Itch.io (submit under \xe2\x80\x9cOther\xe2\x80\x9d);
• At least one recent research publication and/or game (submit as one attachment under \xe2\x80\x9cList of Publications\xe2\x80\x9d); and
• Teaching dossier that includes a statement regarding the applicant\'s approach to teaching, evidence of or potential for teaching effectiveness (such as awards, student feedback, and peer or supervisor evaluations), and one previously-taught course outline (submit as one attachment under "Statement of Teaching/Research Interests").

Letters of reference will be requested from applicants selected for interviews. Applicants selected for interviews will be expected to contact the three referees and arrange to have their letters of reference sent via email attachment to Gloria Stroyek (mtsea@ualberta.ca).

Questions about the position should be directed to the Director of Media and Technology Studies, Dr. Gordon Gow ( ).

The committee will begin reviewing files on November 1, 2023. The position will remain open until filled.

As part of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program requirements, the university must conduct recruitment efforts to hire Canadians and permanent residents before offering a job to a temporary foreign worker. To ensure we remain in compliance with these regulations, please include the appropriate statement in your application "I am a Canadian Citizen/Permanent Resident" or "I am not a Canadian Citizen/Permanent Resident".

How to Apply

Note: Online applications are accepted until midnight Mountain Standard Time of the closing date.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. If suitable Canadian citizens or permanent residents cannot be found, other individuals will be considered. The University of Alberta is committed to an equitable, diverse, and inclusive workforce. We welcome applications from all qualified persons. We encourage women; First Nations, M\xc3\xa9tis and Inuit persons; members of visible minority groups; persons with disabilities; persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity and expression; and all those who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas and the University to apply.

University of Alberta