CMU-Africa - Teaching and Research Faculty Positions (KIGALI)
Carnegie Mellon University
Application
Details
Posted: 15-Oct-23
Location: Kigali, Rwanda, AFRICA
Salary: Open
Internal Number: 96623
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) invites applications for teaching track and research track faculty positions at all levels (i.e., Assistant, Associate and Full Professor) at its campus in Kigali, Rwanda.
Since its founding in 1900, CMU has been a birthplace of innovation. It has globally top ranked programs in engineering, computer science, and information and communication technology, as well as a rich history of entrepreneurship. CMU is dedicated to producing creative and ethically strong engineers that have meaningful impact in their communities and accelerate positive technological change in the world. In 2011, CMU extended its global footprint into Africa as Carnegie Mellon University Africa in Rwanda (CMU-Africa). In a region booming with opportunities, CMU is the only US-based research university offering its master's degrees with full-time faculty, staff, and operations in Africa. The Africa location is fast growing, with over 300 students from more than 20 African countries enrolled. You can read more about CMU-Africa's vision and mission on our website. CMU's presence in Rwanda provides a platform to engage in Africa's most significant opportunities and challenges across the continent through world-class education and contextually relevant research and innovation. CMU-Africa enjoys strong collaboration and exchanges with the main campus in Pittsburgh, USA.
We seek highly qualified candidates with a Ph.D. from leading research universities, and a passion for the digital transformation of Africa, to contribute to CMU-Africa?s innovative, interdisciplinary graduate teaching and research. Core research faculty will form an interdisciplinary team creating knowledge and innovations of relevance to the acceleration of inclusive digital transformation of Africa. They will also provide the intellectual leadership for some knowledge transfer activities such as workshops and meetings in relevant topic areas.
We welcome applicants with interests in the development and application of Information and Communication Technology, defined broadly, to address societal challenges in an African setting. Areas of particular interest include artificial intelligence and machine learning, cybersecurity and privacy, software engineering and development, robotics, IoT, technology policy and technology entrepreneurship with applications to health, finance, agriculture, energy, and education.
We are seeking both teaching-track and research-track faculty. While these are not tenure-track lines, research and teaching faculty tracks are well established professional tracks at CMU with renewable, multi-year contracts that go through the same review and promotion process (with different criteria) as tenure-track faculty. Teaching and research faculty are integrated into all CMU Africa activities, take on leadership positions, and receive significant support to achieve scholarly excellence. They are expected to actively collaborate with other faculty at CMU-Africa, the Pittsburgh main campus, and partner African universities in their scholarly activities. The teaching and research track present long-term career growth opportunities along well-established promotion lines to advance through Assistant, Associate, and full Teaching/Research Professor levels. Both tracks are encouraged to engage in teaching and research. They differ in their focus.
Teaching-track faculty are responsible for developing and teaching courses in chosen areas (e.g., AIML, Cybersecurity and Privacy, EdTech, Technology and Policy, Technology Entrepreneurship) and sectors (Health, Education, Agriculture and Finance). They will spend significant time in developing and teaching modules of relevance to inclusive digital transformation. Teaching-track faculty members have opportunities to conduct research or engage in other activities that advance them professionally, provided those activities are consistent with the department?s overall educational mission.
Research-track faculty responsibilities include creating, developing, carrying out and managing innovative research programs, particularly in areas of importance to Africa. CMU-Africa research-track positions are fully funded for three years providing a convenient ramp for the research faculty to establish a strong research program and pursue external research funding opportunities. Research-track faculty members supervise graduate students and postdocs (often in collaboration with other CMU faculty, including faculty on the Pittsburgh campus) and frequently engage in teaching courses which helps them attract students to join their research efforts.
CMU-Africa faculty in both tracks are expected to work closely with colleagues on the main campus and visit the main campus for both short-term and longer-term (e.g., a semester or a year) for establishing and growing collaborative efforts in both teaching and research. Similarly, faculty members on the main campus will have opportunities to come to Kigali to teach and carry out joint research with CMU-Africa faculty.
Your application package should consist of the following:
A cover letter (stating clearly whether you are applying for a teaching-track or a research-track faculty position);
A curriculum vitae;
A research statement, typically three to five pages, outlining a compelling short-term and long-term vision for a research program that is aligned to CMU-Africa?s goal of supporting the inclusive digital transformation of Africa and may reference potential collaborators at CMU-Africa, CMU-Pittsburgh and other higher learning institutions in Africa and beyond;
A teaching statement, typically on the order of two pages, outlining both your experience and philosophy, a listing of courses you are interested in teaching and presenting a longer-term vision for training Africa?s next generation of technology thought leaders, researchers, and entrepreneurs; and
A diversity statement, typically on the order of two pages, outlining how you have contributed to as well as plan to contribute to diversity, inclusion, and equity
Three letters of recommendation should be requested individually through the confidential letter request function in Interfolio. You may wish to send an email to each of your letter writers to alert them that they will receive an automated email from Interfolio requesting that they upload their letter of recommendation (sometimes the automated Interfolio emails are mistaken for spam).
Carnegie Mellon University shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR §§ 60-1.4(a), 60-300.5(a) and 60-741.5(a). These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Moreover, these regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, protected veteran status or disability.
Carnegie Mellon (www.cmu.edu) is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 12,000 students in the university’s seven schools and colleges benefit from a small student-to-faculty ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. A global university, Carnegie Mellon’s main campus in the United States is in Pittsburgh, Pa. It has campuses in California’s Silicon Valley and Qatar, and programs in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and Mexico.