Research Centre                               Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics

Post Title                                             Research Assistant in UI/UX

Post Duration                                    Fixed Term Contract (10 months)

Dublin City University

Dublin City University (DCU) is a leading innovative European University, proud to be one of the world’s leading Young Universities. DCU is known as Ireland’s University of Impact, with a mission to ‘transform lives and societies’ and focuses on addressing global challenges in collaboration with key national and international partners and stakeholders.

DCU has over 20,000 students in five faculties spread across three academic campuses in the Glasnevin-Drumcondra area of North Dublin. Thanks to its innovative approach to teaching and learning, the University offers a ‘transformative student experience’ that helps to develop highly sought-after graduates. DCU is currently No. 1 in Ireland for Graduate Employment Rate, and for graduate income (CSO).  

DCU is a research-intensive University and is home to a number of SFI-funded Research Centres. The University participates in a range of European and international research partnerships. DCU is also the leading Irish university in the area of technology transfer as reflected by licensing of intellectual property.

As a ‘People First’ institution, DCU is committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion - a University that helps staff and students to thrive. The University is a leader in terms of its work to increase access to education, and is placed in the world’s Top 10 for reducing inequalities in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.

Background

The Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics (http://www.Insight-centre.org) is an SFI funded Research Centre which brings together researchers from University College Dublin, NUI Galway, University College Cork, and Dublin City University, as well as other partner institutions, Trinity College Dublin (TCD), University of Limerick (UL), Maynooth University (MU) and Tyndall National Institute. It creates a critical mass of more than 400 researchers from Ireland's leading ICT clusters to carry out research on a new generation of data analytics technologies in a number of key application domain areas, such as Health and Human Performance, Smart Communities, Internet of Things, Enterprise and Services and Sustainability and Operations.

The €150m Centre is funded by Science Foundation Ireland and a wide range of industry and European Union partners. Insight's research focus encompasses a broad range of data analytics technologies from machine learning, decision analytics and social network analysis to linked data, recommender systems and the sensor web. Together, with more than 220 partner companies, Insight researchers are solving critical challenges in the areas of Connected Health and the Discovery Economy.

The Projects

There are two main projects going on: (1) developing smartphone/tablet apps that take into account the cognitive effects on the end-users, and (2) developing VR applications to experiment various interaction design principles and guidelines. There are other smaller projects that investigate the design process of end-user interactivity with various ways of prioritising the usability criteria.

The Role

The role of the Research Assistant will be to support these projects in terms of User-Interface/User Experience (UI/UX): being involved in systematic brainstorming meetings with colleagues, conducting a thorough literature review in a specific field within these projects, sketching the interactivity/screens, writing papers/reports, organising meetings, supporting the software engineering aspect of these projects (e.g. developing smartphone/tablet prototype apps), helping organise and run usability testing sessions, etc.

Principle Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of the position include, but are not restricted to, the following:

• Participate in design discussion meetings as an active participant to help brainstorm and shape the design concepts and strategies;
• Conduct thorough literature review on the requested aspects of the projects;
• Document the design concepts/strategies generated throughout the project duration;
• Sketch the user-interfaces;
• Assist with all software engineering aspect of the projects (prototyping smartphone/tablet/VR apps, online forms);
• Assist with usability testing sessions (arranging the appointments with participants, organising the sessions, preparing the prototypes, observing/recording the usage, etc.);
• Assist with analysing the usability testing results;
• Assist with writing reports and academic papers;
• Any other relevant duties as determined by the supervisor;
• Participate in other Insight Centre activities;
• Liaise with both external and internal stakeholders, including academics, undergraduate and postgraduate students, external supervisors and host placement schools;
• Other tasks relevant to successfully implementing the assigned research programme;
• Attend and present results at project progress meetings.

Minimum Criteria

Applicants should have a minimum of a primary degree (NFQ Level 8) in a relevant discipline and should have at least have 1 years relevant experience.

Skills

• Excellent written and oral proficiency in English (essential).
• Excellent literature review skill (searching, reading, summarising, categorising and derive the state-of-the-art).
• Strong brainstorming, discussion and whiteboarding skills.
• Fast and iterative user-interface/user-experience design skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
• Proven ability to prioritize workload and work to strict deadlines.
• Ability to work in a team and to take responsibility to contribute to the overall success of the team.
• Strong problem-solving abilities.
• Software engineering and prototyping skills (e.g. Figma, Photoshop, web/mobile/VR app development).

Essential Training

The postholder will be required to undertake the following essential compliance training: Orientation, Health & Safety, Data Protection (GDPR) and all Cyber Security Awareness Training. Other training may need to be undertaken when required.

Additional Information

The successful candidates will be offered opportunities for developing their own careers in a number of directions including support for conference/workshop travel, upskilling through Insight’s continuous professional development in areas like research ethics and data privacy, student supervision and development and submission of their own research project proposals.

Salary Scale: IUA Research Assistant Salary Scale €31,465 - €35,356

*Appointment will be commensurate with qualifications and experience and in line with current IUA pay policy

Closing date: Thursday 6^th June 2024

Pilot Remote Working Policy

DCU is currently operating a pilotremote working policy for staff which consists of 1 day a week and 2 days a week for a period of up to 21 weeks per year. Such weeks are determined by the Head of each Unit in conjunction with HR and will take cognisance of the academic calendar, business needs and the service provision of the particular area. The terms of the pilot remote working policy will apply.

For more information on the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics, please visit: https://www.insight-centre.org/

Informal enquiries to:

Dr Hyowon Lee (hyowon.lee@dcu.ie)

Please do not send applications to this email address, instead apply as described below.

Application Procedure:

Please submit your application through the online system. In order to be considered for the role to which you are applying for, you must upload:

1)  Curriculum Vitae

2)  Cover Letter

3)  Completed application form (blank forms can be downloaded from the bottom of the Vacancy).

Please note, if all items are not uploaded, the application will be deemed incomplete, and will not be processed.

 

Dublin City University is an equal opportunities employer. In line with the Employment Equality Acts 1998 – 2015, the University is committed to equality of treatment for all those who engage with its recruitment, selection and appointment processes. The University’s Athena SWAN Bronze Award signifies the University’s commitment to promoting gender equality and addressing any gender pay gaps. Information on a range of university policies aimed at creating a supportive and flexible work environment are available in the DCU Policy Starter Packs