METU Department of Multimedia Informatics

JOB DESCRIPTION: Assistant Professor in Multimedia Informatics

UPDATE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the closing date for applications is extended to July 31, 2020.

METU Department of Multimedia Informatics is seeking applications for an Assistant Professor position (Doktor Öğretim Üyesi) in areas related to multimedia informatics including but not limited to computer vision, game technologies, audio signal processing, affective computing, immersive environments, and machine Learning.

REQUIREMENTS

The successful candidate should:

1. Hold a PhD in electrical and electronic engineering, computer science, or computer engineering from a university approved by the inter-university committee (ÜAK) of the higher education council of Turkey (YÖK). Candidates with PhDs from other fields may be considered if they can demonstrate a strong international research record in Multimedia Informatics.
2. Have a strong research track record (commensurate with the level of their academic experience) as demonstrated by journal and conference publications in top tier journals and conferences, respectively, on multimedia informatics.
3. Have experience in writing research grant applications and preferably have demonstrated their ability to secure research grants.
4. Preferably have some teaching and supervisory experience
5. Preferably have some experience with interdisciplinary research

RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Carrying out world-class research into different aspects of multimedia informatics,
2. Teaching two graduate courses (equivalent to six credit hours) per academic term at the METU MMI graduate programme (N.B. The department does not have an undergraduate programme.)
3. Supervising graduate students at MSc and PhD level
4. Participation in institutional and departmental boards and committees and contributing to its activities (such as cross-cutting training activities for doctoral students)
5. Writing national (e.g. TÜBİTAK) and international (e.g. bilateral calls, EU Horizon Europe) grant applications
6. Securing funds for and establishing a research laboratory of their own

BENEFITS

-      Support for academic entrepreneurial activities via METU Technology Transfer Office

-      Opportunity to act as a consultant to companies in METU Technopolis which is the largest university research park in Turkey

-      Heavily subsidised in-campus accommodation for quinquennial periods

-      Start-up research grants for new faculty members

-      Free kindergarten and discounted admission to ODTU Koleji (both at pre-school and school levels) for children of METU staff

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

The applicant is required to send the following documents via e-mail to Dr Elif Sürer (elifs@metu.edu.tr):

❏    the attached application form,

❏    an up-to-date CV,

❏    the list of publications of the applicant,

❏    letter of intent on research and teaching interests

❏    electronic copies of up to five selected publications.

Reference letters will be requested upon the shortlisting of candidates which will take place shortly after the closing date.

The shortlisted candidates will be contacted by 15 August 2020.

ABOUT METU

Middle East Technical University (METU), founded in 1956, is an international research university, which seeks excellence in serving the country, region and the world. This well-deserved reputation is partly a reflection of its leading position in terms of international scientific publications and share of research funds from national scientific research funding agencies, primarily The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), among the most prominent universities of Turkey. Moreover, METU – as an international research-intensive university – is among the leading universities in Turkey in terms of depth and breadth of international research projects and the amount of funds generated from research activities. Research revenues account for 20-25% on average of annual METU expenditures, including all payroll costs.

METU has actively taken part in and managed various projects under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA), especially the Framework Programmes (FP) as well as other international projects, such as COST, Erasmus, Newton-Katip Çelebi Fund, etc. In this context, as of February 13, 2020, METU has 369 international projects (either signed or in Grant Agreement phase) with a total budget of 851 M€ and METU's share of 56 M€. Among these projects, 184 are supported by the EU Framework Programmes with a total budget of 763 M€ within which METU’s share of 42.5 M€ while 185 of METU’s international projects are funded other programs such as Erasmus, GCRF and US Embassy with a total budget of 90M€ and METU's share of nearly 13 M€.

In terms of national R&D projects, where TÜBİTAK is the leading funding agency, METU has a prominent position amongst Turkish universities with 1100+ funded projects having a total budget greater than 500 MTL (approx. 80 M€ with January 2020 conversion rates). At any given time, METU has approximately 400 R&D projects nationally funded by TÜBİTAK and various ministries and 60 R&D projects internationally sponsored, mainly by the EU Research and Innovation Framework Programmes. This record of accomplishment translates into METU bringing in about 9% of the FP-sourced research funds acquired by Turkey until now.

Website: http://www.metu.edu.tr

ABOUT GRADUATE SCHOOL OF INFORMATICS

Source: https://ii.metu.edu.tr/welcome-letter

Graduate School of Informatics was established in 1996 at METU as one of the first of its kind in Turkey. Our pioneering position in the field and our emphasis on the combination of teaching, research and service are positioning us as unique leaders and innovators in Informatics.

The mission of the Graduate School of Informatics is to promote creative and innovative interdisciplinary academic research from a comprehensive perspective and to ensure the formation of a broad human resource vision. We bring together academics and experts from different disciplines to provide interdisciplinary training and research, to train the next generation of researchers in this area, and to be the leader in this field.

The Graduate School of Informatics provides a unique research and learning environment in the interdisciplinary fields of information and information technology. Our faculty and students are a diverse group with a wide variety of experiences and interests; our curriculum points to the importance of interaction and change between researchers working in all areas of informatics.

The Graduate School of Informatics brings together different specializations in five disciplines. Each department has a pioneering initiative in its academic field and each one strongly depends on interdisciplinary collaborations both inside and outside the university. In addition, the laboratories that conduct interdisciplinary research in our institute are not only our university's but also our country's leading research laboratories. Our research is supported by the Ministry of Development, TUBITAK and European Union projects.

We believe we are engaged in an exciting and forward-looking programme of teaching and research and are proud of our links with industrial sectors- at local, national and international levels.

Our aim for the future is to educate more students who will go into worldwide communities and bring about life changing, life enhancing differences with their informatics training. Our motto is "creative innovation" at all levels of activity , from the design of new courses to their implementation and delivery as well as our research and collaboration with the industry.

Website: http://ii.metu.edu.tr/

DEPARTMENT OF MULTIMEDIA INFORMATICS

The primary aim of the MMI M.Sc. and Ph.D program is to educate its students on state-of-the-art multimedia technologies including computer vision and audition, motion capture and tracking, affective computing, ambient intelligence, virtual/augmented realities, and game technologies. The program has a strong research component with a prominent interdisciplinary edge. The interdisciplinary aspects of the program are reflected not only in the academic backgrounds of the faculty who teach at the program but also by the diverse backgrounds of its students. The program consists of two tracks: multimedia computing (MMI-M) and game technologies (MMI-G). MMI-M track aims to build a strong background in multimedia technologies and to offer a diverse selection of courses that addresses the recent developments in the fields of audio processing, digital image processing, social signal processing, motion analysis, computer vision and machine learning. MMI-G track consists of game-related courses that cover the technical development aspects and design aspects of game development. The research and thesis work carried out by the students reflect novel and innovative aspects of cutting-edge research in game technologies. The program has strong collaboration and research links with other game technology labs as well as the game technology industry in Turkey and abroad. The program is also supported by game companies in METU Technopolis as well as METUTECH-ATOM, the game technology pre-incubator in the METU Technopolis.

Website: http://mmi.ii.metu.edu.tr/