[Application Closed] Opportunities for Project Faculty and Postdoctoral Researcher Positions at KMD (Moonshot R&D program)

Announcement (PDF)

December 25, 2020
 
Opportunities for Project Faculty and Postdoctoral Researcher Positions at KMD (Moonshot R&D program)
  
Keio University Graduate School of Media Design, known as KMD, invites applications from qualified individuals for project (non-tenure-track) faculty positions at the associate, senior assistant or assistant professor rank, and postdoctoral researcher positions. The preferred starting date is April 1^st, 2021, or as soon as possible thereafter.
 
KMD is a graduate program to educate creative global leaders who understand the core creative skills of design, technology, management, and policy in the field of media design. Education will take a practical, hands-on, and global approach to offering various projects grounded in practice by collaborating with international partner institutions and research facilities. The formal languages are both English and Japanese, thus we welcome faculties, researchers, and students with English proficiency.
 
From December 2020, KMD is starting a new research project named “Cybernetic Avatar Technology and Social System Design for Harmonious Co-experience and Collective Ability” directed by Prof. Kouta Minamizawa under the Japanese government’s Moonshot R&D Program* Goal #1 “Realization of a society in which human beings can be free from limitations of body, brain, space, and time by 2050.”
    * Moonshot R&D program description by JST https://www.jst.go.jp/moonshot/en/program/goal1/
 In this research project, we aim to develop cybernetic avatar technologies that allow people to take full advantage of their abilities and share variety of skills and experiences of diverse people. Considering the social and ethical issues involved in the mutual utilization of physical skills and experiences, we will design a social system that is in harmony with human and society. By 2050, the inter-distribution of skills and experiences will allow people to link together to produce embodied co-creations, and help realize a society in which everyone can freely engage in physical activities and challenges through cybernetic avatars.
 
KMD invites collaboration-minded applicants with qualifications, experience, and demonstrated excellence in innovative works combining two or more of the following areas:
 
– Human augmentation, Sensory augmentation, Cognitive augmentation
– Telexistence, Tele-presence, Avatar robots
– Virtual reality, Virtual avatar, Metaverse
– Haptics, especially wearable haptic interfaces using new materials
– Experience sharing, Skill transfer
– Application of cybernetic avatar technology for the physically challenged and elderly.
– Integration of the above fields with Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning technologies
 
Qualified candidates should have a doctoral degree with a proven commitment to quality researching (for all positions) and teaching at graduate level (for faculty positions). The salary is commensurate with experience, according to Keio University guidelines.
The research and education will be conducted mainly in Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan.
 
Interested individuals should include the following in their Application Package:
 
1. Curriculum Vitae
2. Letter of application (Up to 5 pages. Please include why you are interested in this position and how you see yourself fitting into the project, and your vision to the future humanity and/or human society in 2050 with referring the moonshot goal*.)
     * Moonshot R&D program description by JST https://www.jst.go.jp/moonshot/en/program/goal1/
3. Portfolio or Summary of your research activities
4. Publication list (papers, books, talks, exhibitions, patents, awards, etc.)
5. Name, affiliation and contact information of 2 or 3 references
 
Applications should be received by January 25^th, 2021 to receive full consideration. All application materials should be merged as one PDF file and sent via email to moonshot-search@kmd.keio.ac.jp
Please use file transfer service when the PDF file size exceeds 10MB.
 
Personal information provided in applications is managed in accordance with the regulations of Keio University and will only be used for the procedures of the current recruitment.
 
For the second screening, short-listed candidates will be invited to attend an interview session, which can be arranged to be conducted remotely via video conferencing systems such as Zoom.
 
For more information about KMD and KMD Embodied Media Project (Prof. Minamizawa’s research group), see https://www.kmd.keio.ac.jp/en and http://embodiedmedia.org/
 Questions should be directed to Prof. Kouta Minamizawa via email to koutasec@kmd.keio.ac.jp