Vacancy: Coordinator & Content Creator for On-line Course in Photonics (Open)

Context

Europe has the ambition to be a leading force in the field of chip technologies, and one of the key elements for this is talent development, and making knowledge and expertise accessible. The Flemish Chip Competence Center has been established as part of that strategy, leveraging the combined expertise of multiple universities in the Flemish Community. As part of this strategy, the FC3 team at UGent wants to develop a library of on-line course material, in the form of MOOCs, to train new talent, and strengthen the position of Ghent University and Flanders.

The short-term focus is the creation of an on-line course in Photonic integrated circuits (PICs), and in particular Silicon Photonics. Photonic chips are becoming a key enabler of tomorrow's AI and datacenter infrastructure, to meet the demand for high-bandwidth optical interconnects. Also, we see a growing use of photonic chips for more diverse applications in sensing, healthcare, wireless communication, quantum and signal processing.

Ghent University has been at the forefront of photonics for decades, and in its partnership with IMEC has played a leading role in the growth of silicon photonics. With two educational Master programs (a two-year master in Photonics Engineering, together with VUB, as well as a specialized one-year master in silicon photonics) we have also been training talent in this field for over two decades. Our educational and training programs are considered world-class, and are reaching beyond the walls of the university through initiatives like ePIXfab (summer schools, design trainings, ...). But it is not sufficient: the 10s of (excellent) graduates each year cannot meet the increasing need for talent.

We have the ambition to bring our state-of-the-art educational material to a much larger audience, and the obvious path for this is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Starting from the content of multiple courses, as well as a library of hands-on computer labs, we aim to create a compelling education program that can reach 1000s of students per year, providing a low-access entry point for people around the globe to enter the field.

Beyond the field of photonics, we are exploring additional opportunities to boost the educational impact through micro-credential programs and focused trainings.

Job Description

We are looking for a creative content creator and coordinator for building an offering of on-line course material (MOOC) in Photonic Integrated Circuits and other chip technologies, harnessing the expertise at Ghent University and IMEC to make a global educational impact in the booming field of photonic and electronic integrated circuits.

The primary focus of your job (75%) is the creation of an on-line course in Photonics, building on the expertise of the researchers and professors in the different research groups at Ghent University: This will involve, among others

- Coordination between multiple professors across different research groups
- Composing an overall Content Plan for the online course
- Comparing different course formats and offering strategies (including commercial platforms)
- Building content or assisting professors in creating content (slides, animations, ...)
- Coordinating video recordings, and editing
- Working out strategies to scale up on-line computer labs, examinations, ...
- Interaction with partner organizations for possible synergies (e.g. IMEC, Photondelta)

In addition, your work would involve participation in other activities of FC3, and helping to build a strategy for new educational and training material (e.g. micro-credential courses)>

Candidate Profile

You hold a Master's degree or a thesis-based doctorate

We are looking for a person with a healthy interest in the topic of semiconductor technology, photonics and electronics, and with a sufficiently strong technical background to (learn and) understand the key concepts being taught in the courses and trainings.

- Background in Photonics, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Nanotechnology, ... (e.g. M.Sc or PhD)
- An interest in teaching methods and storytelling
- Good interpersonal and coordination skills
- Experience in visual graphics creation (most available content is in Powerpoint) and Video creation, editing.
- Fluent in English

About Us

You would work within the context of the FC3, which at Ghent University is coordinated by the Computer Science Lab of prof. Dirk Stroobandt. However, as the primary focus of the work would be on the creation of a photonics-oriented course, your primary engagement would be with the Photonics Research Group.

The Photonics Research Group (about 130 people) of Ghent University is an associated lab of imec, and is part of the Department of Information Technology of Ghent University. The group is headed by Prof. D. Van Thourhout and has been active in photonics device research for many years. Prof. Wim Bogaerts, who is in the lead of this initiative, is one of the other 11 professors in this group. He is also currently the chair of ePIXfab (the European Silicon Photonics Alliance), which organizes multiple training events every year in Europe and beyond. Most professors in the photonics research group, as well as professors in other UGent groups (IDlab, CMST, LCP) will be contributing to the creation of this new on-line course, either with base course material or actively making video content. The group also has a healthy bottom-up culture of contribution to creative initiatives, which provides opportunities to develop new teaching concepts during this work.

How to apply?

Apply online through the e-recruitment system before the application deadline (see above). We do not accept late applications or applications that are not submitted through the online system.

Your application must include the following documents:

- In the field CV: your CV and an overview of your study results (merged into one pdf file)
- In the field Cover letter: your application letter in pdf format
- In the field Diploma: a transcript of the required degree (if already in your possession). If you have a foreign diploma in a language other than our national languages (Dutch, French or German) or English, please add a translation in one of the mentioned languages.
- In the field Other documents: a reference letter, an overview of your study results, ...

More information

• Contact: Wim Bogaerts