Circle U.: Université Paris Cité is recruiting for its new ‘Democracy’ chair

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Play an active role in the activities of the Democracy Hub, including attending meetings and supporting the organisation of initiatives led by its Academic Director, Dan Banik (such as Open Conversations, Summer Schools, and other events);
• Design and develop new joint educational initiatives (including COIL – Collaborative Online International Learning, BIPs – Blended Intensive Programmes, hackathons, double degree programmes, conferences, and other formats) addressing Circle U.’s interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary themes;
• Act as the key liaison between the Democracy Hub and Université Paris Cité;
• Promote Circle U. initiatives within the Université Paris Cité community and, conversely, showcase the University’s initiatives to the alliance’s partner institutions;
• Contribute to Université Paris Cité’s network of Academic Chairs by developing collaborations with fellow Chairs, academic partners and regional stakeholders;
• Make use of the University’s funding opportunities, including the Bottom-Up and Paciform calls, to support the development of educational projects within the Circle U. framework;
• Represent Circle U. within the University, at national and international level, and with external partners;
• Contribute to the dissemination of the alliance’s educational initiatives, collaborative projects and opportunities;
• Monitor activities and report on progress to the Université Paris Cité Circle U. team and the Democracy Hub, in line with the requirements of the European project;
• Encourage the development of new models of inter-university cooperation and share good practice across the alliance.

Circle U. Chairs are entrusted to academic staff at Université Paris Cité for a one-year term, renewable up to a maximum of four years. The position includes a teaching reduction equivalent to 20% of the teaching load, i.e. 38.5 hours per semester, to allow time for the development of Circle U.-related projects.

Selection will be carried out by a committee comprising elected representatives from the faculties, as well as members of the University’s senior leadership. Particular attention will be paid to the following criteria:

• being an academic member of staff (lecturer or researcher) at Université Paris Cité, working on topics related to democracy;
• demonstrating a strong interest in interdisciplinary and international approaches to teaching;
• showing a commitment to teaching innovation;
• the ability to work collaboratively and bring together a range of partners around a shared project;
• proficiency in English, enabling participation in and facilitation of working meetings in the language.

Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee meeting on 12 October, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. They will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• motivation to contribute to the internationalisation of educational programmes and to develop collaborations both within Université Paris Cité and across the Circle U. alliance;
• the match between the applicant’s profile and the responsibilities of the Chair;
• the quality, feasibility and long-term sustainability of the proposed educational project, which must be embedded in an international framework and developed in collaboration with at least one partner institution within the alliance, although it is not necessary for this partner to be identified at the time of application submission.