TU/e is hiring: Postdoc generative AI and education
The Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences at TU/e, through the BOOST! scheme for innovation in education and the 4TU Centre for Engineering Education, is hiring a Postdoctoral Researcher to work on the use of generative AI in higher education, with an emphasis on writing skills. See the official job announcement for position details and application instructions (deadline December 24th, 2023).
Come work with us!
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Postdoc Using Generative AI to Teach Academic Writing
Job description
Generative AI systems such as ChatGPT pose an unprecedented challenge to established structures and institutions in many different domains, including higher education. Given the novelty and untested role of generative AI in higher education, its impact has yet to be systematically explored and evaluated. For this reason, this postdoc project aims to examine the possible use and impact of generative AI systems in higher education, with a particular focus on academic writing. The findings will be directly integrated into the constructive alignment triangle of several courses at the university, thereby promoting the articulation of “future-oriented” learning objectives and “AI-proof” assessment methods for academic writing.
The project
In this two-year postdoc project, you will examine the use of generative AI for teaching academic writing in engineering education. This project consists of several work packages. First, you will be mapping the state-of-the-art of current approaches to implementing generative AI in teaching and assessment of writing in higher education. Second, together with educational support and teachers, you will design (summative and formative) assessment methods, incorporating the use of (generative) AI. This may include assessing both product and process, focusing on optimizing human-AI collaboration, assessing critical reflection on AI-generated content, etc. Finally, these methods will be tested on their ability to assess future-oriented learning objectives, taking into account both individual and task differences.
You will be embedded in the Human-Technology Interaction group and the Philosophy and Ethics group of the department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences, and collaborate with a larger group of educational stakeholders, including teachers, course designers, and policy makers. An important aspect of this project is the focus on societal impact: you will directly implement and test your ideas within engineering courses at the TU/e and discuss the broader implications and recommendations with relevant educational stakeholders.
Job Requirements
- Recently completed (or be close to the completion of) a PhD degree in Learning Analytics, Educational Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Human-Computer Interaction, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field that shows an interest in both education as well as intelligent systems such as (generative) AI.
- Demonstrable experience in conducting empirical and/or experimental research, including knowledge of quantitative data analysis and data wrangling techniques (e.g., in R, Python, etc.).
- Affinity with course design and/or course delivery (e.g., UTQ, teaching experience, …).
- Ability to closely collaborate with educational stakeholders such as teachers in engineering education, educational support, and policy-makers.
- Familiarity with or interest in large language models/generative AI.
Information and Application
We look forward to receiving your application and will screen it as soon as possible. The vacancy will remain open until the position is filled. The proposed start date is 1st January 2024. For more information on the application visit the application page. ⬇