University of South Wales – Faculty of Creative Industries

Deadline: May 21, 2019

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The University Of South Wales (USW) Group is a major player in UK higher education with more than 30,000 students from 120 countries. Within the United Kingdom, USW is unique in the breadth of its role, encompassing a modern university and two subsidiaries in Wales’s national conservatoire, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, and The College Merthyr Tydfil.

The USW Faculty of Creative Industries is one of the largest providers of creative education in the UK with over 2500 students studying across a portfolio of over 30 undergraduate and postgraduate courses, all contained within a campus in the heart one of the country’s most vibrant and creative cities.

Our research culture is shaped by a collaborative approach to applied research that works closely with industry, arts organisations, and government to provide creative solutions to contemporary global challenges. This ethos of partnership for change is reflected in our REF 2014 research impact, which is ranked in the top tier for creative industries research in the UK.

Investment in Creative Economy

Working in partnership with HE and industry collaborators, the Faculty of Creative Industries has been successful in securing a Creative Cluster (https://ceprogramme.com/news/rd-investment-set-to-provide-step-up-for-creative-industries/) award from the AHRCs Creative Clusters Programme and an Audiences of the Future Demonstrator Award (https://www.ukri.org/innovation/industrial-strategy-challenge-fund/audience-of-the-future/#pagecontentid-4) from UKRI

Clwstwr (http://www.clwstwr.org.uk/) is an ambitions R& together with major industry partners including public broadcasters, the local independent production sector, screen agencies and Welsh Government. It aims to put innovation at the heart of media production in South Wales - moving Cardiff’s thriving screen sector from strength to leadership. This five-year programme builds on the phenomenal growth of Cardiff as a centre of screen production to create new products, services and experiences.

Audience of the Future is a UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK) (https://www.southwales.ac.uk/news/news-2019/usw-joins-audience-future-collaboration-help-create-ground-breaking-immersive-experiences/) funded project that seeks to evolve content delivery and audience engagement beyond traditional broadcast, with an eye to capturing 100,000 participants (viewers/players) through the duration of this 2-year project.

As partners with developers, Tiny Rebel Games, Potato, and Sugar Creative, we will produce a sustainable and mutable platform for content delivery that will use Augmented Reality technology (mobile phone) for multi-user participatory storytelling. Story arcs may take the form of ongoing serials, singular events or a combination of the two. Events may be located in physical and thematically relevant spaces. The project will be based around an iconic and globally recognised entertainment brand.

Research Fellow, Audience of the Future (Impact and Evaluation)

Grade F Full-time Fixed-term 1st July 2019-31st December 2020

This post will provide expert insights to support the evolution and evaluation of USW’s contribution to the Audience of the Future Demonstrator project. The post holder will liaise with USW and the consortium to organise masterclasses, workshops, hypothesis testing and play-testing. The post holder will document and evaluate processes employed in the development of the project and disseminate research around findings for both a research and industry audience. The post holder will have a good understanding of creative development, and software development processes and a good understanding of Augmented Reality projects and their wider implications. The post holder will have time allocated to develop new research initiatives (including high-quality published outputs and grant applications) in support of the Faculty of Creative Industries’ emerging research strength in Immersive Technology Research. They will report to Corrado Morgana (PI on the AoF project) and will work closely with the Faculty Head of Research, Professor Ruth McElroy.

We welcome enquiries prior to application - for an informal discussion about either Research Fellow post, please contact Corrado Morgana (corrado.morgana@southwales.ac.uk; Tel: 01443 661838). For discussions about the Lectureship in Creative Industries, please contact Dr Rob Campbell (robert.campbell@southwales.ac.uk; Tel: 01443 668558) or Professor Ruth McElroy (ruth.mcelroy@southwales.ac.uk; Tel: 01443 668591). These positions are based at Atrium, USW’s Cardiff Campus. The terms and conditions of the post (including grade and salary) will be those of the University of South Wales.

• Name of Institution: University of South Wales
• Location: Cardiff
• Categories: Research
• Salary: £35,211 – £40,792
• Reference: U10096
• Closing Date: 21/05/2019