The University of British Columbia, Vancouver invites applications for a Postdoctoral Teaching & Learning Fellow, associated with a proposed Master of Data Science (MDS) program which is pending approval from the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education. This program is a collaborative effort of the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Statistics, within the Faculty of Science. The Fellow will be based in the Department of Statistics but work closely with colleagues from both departments, including another Fellow based in Computer Science.
The MDS program will focus on the innovative and responsible use of Data Science tools across a broad spectrum of data types and domain areas. It is a 10-month, full-time program, delivered in course modules of two-week and four-week durations. The last two months are devoted to a capstone project. Pending approval, the first cohort of MDS students will arrive in September 2016. Thus this position offers an opportunity to shape the delivery of the program from its inception. The Fellow will:
* Identify and develop instructional materials, including appropriate datasets, in collaboration with participating faculty.
* Be the primary instructor for a subset of the modules and provide instructional support to other faculty instructors for the remainder.
* Work with MDS Directors and faculty to expand the MDS curriculum and keep it current.
* Supervise teaching assistants.
* Foster a positive learning environment for MDS students and be the main continuous presence with the student cohort over the 10 months.
* Mentor MDS students undertaking capstone projects and liaise with project partners.
We aim to recruit a junior scholar who is committed to both the practice and the teaching of Data Science and who is drawn to an academic environment. There are also opportunities for the Fellow to contribute to other Data Science research projects undertaken by the Statistical Consulting and Research Laboratory within the Department of Statistics.
The position is subject to final budgetary approval. The Fellow will be appointed for one year, with the intent of renewal for one or more additional years. The preferred start date is as early as feasible, and must be well in advance of the anticipated arrival of the first student cohort in September 2016. The Fellow will primarily report to the MDS Academic Program Director. We anticipate being able to offer a competitive salary compared to norms for postdoctoral fellowships.
Applicants should hold a PhD in an area relevant to Data Science and have some background in Statistics. They should have experience in at least one of these areas and enthusiasm for all: practical data management and analysis; teaching at the postgraduate level; curriculum development; R/Python/SQL; version control and other practices related to collaborative and reproducible scientific work. Inquiries about qualifications or the proposed program can be directed to .