Università della Svizzera italiana
Faculty of Communication Sciences
The Institute for Public Communication of the Faculty of Communication Sciences invites applications for a full time tenure track position as Assistant Professor of Intercultural Communication.
The Faculty of Communication Sciences is characterized by its emphasis on research and commitment to the highest teaching standards. It offers a young and dynamic context which is highly international and interdisciplinary, studying Communication from many complementary viewpoints, both as disciplines and as fields of application.
Research and teaching carried out within the Institute for Public Communication cover different fields, ranging from public communication and political communication to social marketing, communication law and psychology. So far intercultural communication has been part of the public communication area. It has now been decided to develop this growing field as a specific area of research and teaching within the Institute.
The new chair of intercultural communication will be multi-disciplinary in nature and address both the theoretical and practical dynamics linked to intercultural communication. The core areas of interest are intercultural competence, communication in and with intercultural communities and organisations as well as the challenges of internationality and plurilingualism. The research orientations should be developed in collaboration, and where possible in synergy, with the other research projects underway in the Institute and the Faculty.
We look for candidates in particular from the field of communication sciences, but also from political science, sociology, public administration, anthropology, linguistics and other related fields. A strong commitment to research and solid methodological grounding should be demonstrated by publications in international peer-reviewed journals and other significant publications in the field. A demonstrated ability to address the theoretical and practical issues of intercultural communication will also be valued. Prior professional experience in intercultural contexts, whether in government, administration, NGOs or international organisations, as well as multilingual proficiency are significant asset for this position.
Job description and responsibilities
The successful candidate will be expected to:
*promote and develop the area of intercultural communication within the Institute for Public Communication;
*teach introductory courses at the Bachelor level and more specialized courses at the Master level, notably as part of the Master in Public Management and Policy (the teaching workload encompasses 9 ECTS for an assistant professor);
*develop and carry-out a research agenda centred on Intercultural Communication, including the obtention of research grants, the publication of academic contributions and the active participation to and contribution in international academic forums;
*assume the academic responsibility of the Executive Master in Intercultural Communication and of the Eurocampus programme;
*co-ordinate research assistants’ activities and supervise PhD candidates;
*participate actively in the work of the Faculty Council and related ad-hoc bodies notably within the Institute for Public Communication. The candidate could, for example, take the direction of the Laboratorio di Studi Mediterranei.
The ideal candidate will have:
*a Ph.D. in Intercultural Communication or in a field related to intercultural communication;
*a documented contribution to research in the field, notably through publications and
conference presentations;
*adequate experience of teaching academic courses on the subject at various levels;
*experience of designing, developing and coordinating educational programmes in the field;
*experience of, or at least the willingness to address the issue of intercultural communication in the Swiss context;
*professional experiences in intercultural contexts;
*active participation in the field’s international research and educational networks, as well as demonstrated leadership and commitment to service to the institution and to the profession.
The application is for an assistant professor rank position.
Since USI aims to increase the percentage of women in research and teaching, women academics are particularly encouraged to apply.
Residence and language
The professor should reside in Ticino (Italian-speaking part of Switzerland); he or she is expected to be present at the university for no less than four days a week. The University’s graduate programmes are mainly taught in English, while Bachelor classes are taught in Italian. Fluency in Italian, while beneficial, will be required from the second year. Knowledge of other languages, in particular an official language of Switzerland (French or German), is a valuable asset for this position.
Required documentation
Applicants should submit:
*a letter of application addressed to the Dean of the Faculty
*a detailed CV/resume and list of publications, together with documentation of relevant academic qualifications, teaching and professional experience
*copies of a minimum of 3 and maximum of 10 publications of relevance for the position
Please send copy of the application in digital form.
Deadline
Application received by end of September 2014 will be given priority.
Please send your complete application file to the Faculty Dean:
Prof. Lorenzo Cantoni
Facoltà di scienze della comunicazione
Università della Svizzera italiana
Via Giuseppe Buffi 13
CH-6904 Lugano
For further information, please contact the Director of the Institute for Public Communication
Prof. Bertil Cottier
She was a Founding Director of the Communication Research Institute of Australia (1987-2000) and an Adjunct Professor in Communication at the University of Canberra (1999-2005). Robyn is a past President (1985-6) and Life Member of the Australian and New Zealand Communication Association, has served on the International Communication Association board (2002-3) and is a Visiting Senior Member, Linacre College, Oxford (1987). She was also the Associate Editor of the Australian Journal of Communication (1984-2003) and has served on the editorial boards of Communication Theory and Human Communication Research. She is currently a board member of the CMM Institute, Co-Director of the Cosmopolis2045 project, and General Editor of CMMi Press.
Center for Intercultural Dialogue 