Vienna, Austria
Senior artist for Design Investigations
at University of Applied Arts Vienna
The University of Applied Arts Vienna is seeking a senior artist for Design Investigations to join its team in Vienna, Austria.
We are looking for a part-time senior artist (m/f/d, 20 hours per week, limited from 1 March 2023 – 31 August 2023) for Design Investigations (Industrial Design 2)
Energy independence (working title)
Design Investigations (DI) is a department of design at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria led by Professor Anab Jain. The program is positioned as a radically multidisciplinary design course that prepares young designers for increasingly complex and uncertain times.
For our upcoming semester ‘Energy independence’ we would like to invite candidates with an understanding of energy and how energy infrastructure works, as well as practitioner knowledge in creative tech for building off-grid energy prototypes, to apply for the role of part-time guest tutor for a period of about six months, from 1 March 2023 – 31 August 2023.
In the upcoming summer semester commencing March 2023, our department of Design Investigations invites our students to learn about energy: what is energy, how can it be communicated and made tangible and what are the complex infrastructures governing global energy conversion, exchange and consumption, whilst also gaining practical knowledge of developing small scale off grid energy prototypes to gain technical and material understanding of what we call ‘energy’.
Russia’s war on Ukraine has brought into sharp focus the complexities surrounding our current energy crisis and the urgent need to gain energy independence. We believe young designers will play a key role in enabling the direction, form and experience of our new and alternative energy systems. Energy Independence is the starting point for our semester’s project, and we want our students to learn about reliable and resilient energy systems – including energy storage, energy sharing, grid infrastructure, battery storage systems, microgrids, and smart grids that are better able to manage energy demand, store energy and distribute energy efficiently. However, the full brief will be developed in collaboration with the chosen candidate.
We would like to give students the opportunity to explore a range of project directions – from small scale working prototypes to large scale energy system imaginations, from community focussed product ideas to speculative provocations, and stories. Usually our students do not fail to surprise us and our selected candidate has to have an appreciation for such plurality.
Qualifications:
Our ideal candidate will:
- be knowledgeable in energy systems – what energy is, how it is generated/converted, how energy systems work, the geopolitics and infrastructural challenges of present and future energy demands
- have hands-on practical knowledge of crafting and prototyping small scale models that illustrate how small groups and communities might be able to aspire to become energy independent
- inspire our students to gain an understanding of the complexity of energy systems, whilst zooming into small scale practical prototyping as a lens to explore such a big topic
- have experience in teaching practice-led creative projects to art and design students
- have a clear portfolio that showcases at least five years of practice based projects, skills and approaches relevant to this role
We are aware that this is a very specific job requirement so we encourage anyone who feels they have experience even in some of these areas to apply.
Responsibilities:
Your responsibilities will include:
- collaborating with the teaching team to prepare the semester brief for our students, providing relevant examples, literature, films, etc.
- giving a select number of lectures and/or workshops on the subject area of the semester
- conducting tutorials, providing critical and useful feedback and collaborating with the teaching team in supervising the students to develop their concepts into final outcomes
- giving advice and active support in making and materializing student projects
- giving occasional input to help the teaching team prepare content for the online presence of the department
The language of instruction is English, but German skills would be an advantage.
The position requires some physical presence at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. Arrangements are however flexible (blocked seminars and/or online presence, etc.) and can be discussed individually. We encourage you to send your questions via the apply for job button below.
More information on our previous work can be found here.
Please submit a full CV, statement of intent and any work, publications, projects that are related to the subject matter.
Salary: the salary for this period will be € 1,529.30 (seven payments). Travel and stay expenses are not covered by the university.
Deadline for submitting the application is 16 January 2023.
Suitable candidates will be informed of dates for interviews via email. They will probably be held in the week of 30 January to 3 February 2023.
Official employment will start on 1 March 2023 and end on 31 August 2023.
The teaching time zone is Vienna, CET.
The University of Applied Arts Vienna aims to increase the proportion of women among the academic and artistic staff and therefore explicitly invites qualified women to apply. In the case of equal qualifications, women are given priority for admission.
As an employer, the University of Applied Arts Vienna stands for equal opportunities and diversity and welcomes applications from people with disabilities.
Applicants are not entitled to compensation for travel and accommodation expenses.