The School for Mass Communication Research (KU Leuven, Belgium) is
offering a academic staff position (open rank) on Media and Health
communication. SMCR is looking for a colleague who is an expert in one
of the following subdomains of health communication:
 
(1) effects of media use on various health (e.g., addiction, suicide,…)
or societal issues (e.g., hate speech, sustainability,…), and ways of
responding to these effects with communication and intervention,
 
(2) the development and testing of mediated promotion and intervention
campaigns aiming to advance public health or societal wellbeing,
 
(3) health information seeking and effects (e.g., resistance to health
information, public service announcements,…), and/or
 
(4) technological perspectives on health communication (e.g., effects of
VR on health outcomes, potential of mHealth in health promotion,
artificial intelligence,…).
 
Teaching will contain several courses at the Bachelor’s and Master’s
level and will include theoretical and methodological courses on
communication science in general and digital media in particular.
 
Interested candidates can apply for this job no later than February 21,
2021 via the online application tool.
 
For more information see
 
+++
 
Academic position in Media and Health Communication
 
(ref. ZAP-2020-182)
Last modification : Wednesday, October 28, 2020
 
The fulltime professor position (open-rank) will be held within the
Leuven School for Mass Communication Research, a research unit within
the Department of Communication Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, KU
Leuven (Belgium). KU Leuven represents a leading academic institution in
Europe that is currently by far the largest university in Belgium in
terms of research funding and expenditure. The university’s mission is
to provide excellence in academic education and research and to offer a
distinguished service to society. Owing to KU Leuven’s cutting-edge
research, KU Leuven is a charter member of the League of European
Research Universities (LERU) and is consistently ranked among the top 10
universities in Europe.
 
Within KU Leuven, the Leuven School of Mass Communication Research
(SMCR) represents a pioneering institution for media effects research.
SMCR strives to contribute to the most advanced methodological
techniques and theoretical insights in communication studies, cognitive
and social psychology, sociology, and public health. The research focus
lies on the use of information- and entertainment media (including
social media, ICT, television, games, mobile devices), and on how these
uses may harm or enhance various components of individuals’ wellbeing.
We have a strong expertise in explaining the processes through which
various forms of media use affect physical, psychological and social
wellbeing in the long run, and the conditions under which these
processes occur. Therefore, a series of advanced methods are applied,
including longitudinal survey studies, daily diary studies and content
analysis. Issues studied in recent years include alcohol and drug use,
sexuality and sexism, aggression, risk taking, depression,  self-harm,
(positive) body image, sleep, mental wellbeing, health information
seeking, self-esteem, parental mediation, and nutrition.
 
The School adheres to the highest academic standards and strives towards
publishing its research in top academic journals (e.g., Journal of
Communication, Human Communication Research, New Media & Society).
 
For this research, prestigious grants from multiple funding agencies are
attributed yearly and SMCR’s excellent research has been awarded on a
yearly basis by different international and interdisciplinary
organizations. SMCR staff is involved in various national and
international multidisciplinary research projects, primarily of
fundamental nature but also with societal relevance
Website unit Duties Research
 
You will be expected to develop a research program, aim at excellent
scientific output of international level, and support and promote
national and international research collaborations in the broad field of
health communication and in the context of the School for Mass
Communication Research. Your research  focuses on the development of
innovative theory and advanced research techniques in this field. You
have a strong background in predominantly quantitative research methods
and have demonstrated research excellence in various ways (e.g., top
ranked ISI publications, awards, societal impact etc.).
 
With this vacancy we aim to further strengthen and expand the research
at SMCR. We are looking for a candidate with a strong experience in
research in communication and the advancement of health and wellbeing in society. Specifically, your research may encompass one of the following
subdomains of health communication: (1) effects of media use on various
health (e.g., addiction, suicide,…) or societal issues (e.g., hate
speech, sustainability,…), and ways of responding to these effects with
communication and intervention,  (2)  the development and testing of
mediated promotion and intervention campaigns aiming to advance public
health or societal wellbeing, (3) health information seeking and effects
(e.g., resistance to health information, public service
announcements,…), and/or (4) technological perspectives on health
communication (e.g., effects of VR on health outcomes, potential of
mHealth in health promotion, artificial intelligence,…).
 
Your research may focus on the (strategic) uses or effects of different
types of media including but not limited to, social media, entertainment
media, television, news media, apps, video games, blogs, websites,
serious games, virtual reality etc.
 
In close collaboration with SMCR staff, you contribute to the existing
lines of research and set up your own program through the acquisition of
research funding.
Education
The Department of Communication Science, consisting of two research
groups SMCR and IMS, organizes the Bachelor and Master of Communication
Science, the (English) Master in Digital Media and Society, and is
involved in the Master’s program of Business Communication and
Journalism.  Your teaching  will contain  several courses at the
Bachelor’s and Master’s level and will include theoretical and
methodological courses on communication science in general and health
communication in particular. You have experience in lecturing large
groups and you have a broad employability due to in-depth and detailed
knowledge about the social sciences, media sociology and media
psychology.  You supervise students working on their masterthesis and
PhD students.
 
Your teaching is expected to meet the KU Leuven standards regarding
academic program level and orientation and to be in keeping with the
educational vision of KU Leuven. Commitment to the quality of education
as a whole is naturally understood.
Service
You provide scientific, social and internal services. This is reflected,
among other things, in a constructive contribution to education and
research, as part of a team’s collective projects (e.g. through
participation in meetings, teacher days, information sessions,
recruitment activities, exchange programs).
Profile
Applicants hold a Ph.D. degree in communication sciences, social
sciences, psychology, public health or an equivalent diploma. We seek a
scholar with a broad theoretical- and interdisciplinary interest and a
strong background in quantitative research methods, whose research
relates to and complements the current research lines at SMCR with a
strong health communication profile. The successful candidate has an
excellent research record as evidenced by more than one dimension, e.g.,
the quality of his/her PhD research, high-level publications in the
important journals of our field (i.e., ICA journals) and related fields,
research impact (e.g., citations) and acquired research funding.  We
value professional behavior and collegiality, and will encourage the
candidate to collaborate with SMCR researchers as well as with
interdisciplinary research groups and centers within KU Leuven. The
candidate has a large international network and is eager to further
develop this within the context of SMCR.
 
Applicants have demonstrated excellent teaching skills which preferably
include experience in teaching large groups of students.
 
The official administrative language used at KU Leuven is Dutch. If you
do not speak Dutch (or do not speak it well) at the start of employment,
KU Leuven will provide language training to enable you to take part in
administrative meetings. A thorough knowledge of English is required.
Offer
We offer a full-time employment in an intellectually challenging and
international environment. You will work in Leuven, a historic and
lively city located in the heart of Belgium, within 20 minutes from
Brussels, and less than two hours from Paris, London and Amsterdam.
Depending on your experience and qualification, the position will be
filled at one of the levels of the Senior Academic Staff (Tenure Track
Professor, Associate Professor, Full Professor). Junior researchers are
appointed as assistant professor on the tenure track for a period of
five years; after this period and a positive evaluation, they are
permanently appointed (or tenured) as an associate professor. The
anticipated starting date for this position is September 1, 2021.
 
To facilitate scientific onboarding and accelerate research in the first
phase a starting grant of 100.000 euro is offered to new professors
without substantial other funding (e.g., ERC).
 
KU Leuven welcomes international scholars and their family and provides
practical support with regard to immigration and administration,
housing, childcare, learning Dutch, partner career coaching,…
 
Interested?
For more information please contact Prof. dr. Kathleen Beullens, tel.:
+32 16 32 32 19, mail: kathleen.beullens@kuleuven.be  or Prof. dr. Stef
Aupers, tel.: +32 16 37 23 07, mail: stef.aupers@kuleuven.be  or dean
prof. dr. Steven Eggermont, tel: +32 32 32 38, mail:
steven.eggermont@kuleuven.be. For problems with online applying, please
You can apply for this job no later than February 22, 2021 via the
online application tool
KU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish,
regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or
impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or
support, please contact us at diversiteit.HR@kuleuven.be.
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