Lecturer in Digital and Immersive Storytelling

Are you a researcher and practitioner working with immersive and interactive storytelling? Do you bring hands-on experience of immersive media tools alongside a critical, research-led understanding of what they make possible, and an interest in supporting students to make immersive work of their own? If so, this post offers a distinctive opportunity to shape a new area of teaching and research at Birkbeck, with significant new infrastructure behind it.

Are you a researcher and practitioner working with immersive and interactive storytelling? Do you bring hands-on experience of immersive media tools alongside a critical, research-led understanding of what they make possible, and an interest in supporting students to make immersive work of their own?

If so, this post offers a distinctive opportunity to shape a new area of teaching and research at Birkbeck, with significant new infrastructure behind it.

You will join the School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication as Lecturer in Digital and Immersive Storytelling, a new School-wide role embedded in the creative practice infrastructure of the Birkbeck Creative Practice Lab.

The Lab brings together the School's research centres and institutes (including BIMI, the Centre for Contemporary Theatre, BIRMAC, the Derek Jarman Lab, the Peltz Gallery and the Vasari Research Centre).

You will also draw on and contribute to the Immersive Learning Centre, Birkbeck's dedicated AR/VR and spatial computing facility, and will connect with the Centre for Creative AI where immersive production environments and AI-assisted tools intersect.

Your research might engage immersive narrative and spatial storytelling; interactive, transmedia and game-based form; presence, embodiment and representation in VR/AR environments; immersive documentary, journalism or performance; or the meeting of real-time 3D and AI-assisted production. Your practice might involve Unreal Engine, Unity, VR/AR development environments, 360-degree capture, spatial audio or motion capture, developed through professional experience, independent practice or research.

We are especially interested in candidates who can situate that work in relation to one or more of the School's disciplines: film, media and journalism; creative writing;
English and liberal arts; performing arts and creative industries; languages and linguistics.

You will develop new curriculum in immersive storytelling, including a cross-School module bringing students from different disciplines together around ambitious collaborative practice. Birkbeck teaches mainly working students, of diverse ages and backgrounds, largely in the evening; we want someone who finds that an interesting context in which to teach practice.

You will hold, or expect shortly to complete, a PhD in a relevant field such as digital media, film and media studies, journalism, creative arts, game studies, performance studies, literary studies, digital humanities, or a related discipline in which immersive practice and storytelling feature substantially; applications from candidates close to completion are welcome. Demonstrable research engagement with immersive media, evidenced through publications, practice-based outputs or doctoral research, is essential, as is practical experience with immersive production tools.

Prior higher education teaching experience is desirable rather than essential, but we do expect demonstrable experience of teaching, training or facilitated learning in some context. We particularly welcome applications from candidates whose work engages questions of diversity, equity and inclusion in immersive and digital media, and whose backgrounds would contribute to the diversity of our team.

This opportunity would build on experience as:

• immersive media practitioner
• XR designer
• game designer or developer
• narrative designer
• interactive documentary maker
• digital storyteller
• creative technologist
• VR/AR artist
• immersive theatre or performance practitioner
• immersive journalism practitioner
• digital media researcher
• postdoctoral researcher in digital media
• game studies
• literary studies or performance studies
• digital media or creative arts lecturer

£44,247 rising to £60,858 per year, Grade Lecturer (Research & Teaching) LLEC on the College's London Pay Scale which includes a consolidated London Weighting Allowance.

Benefits of working at Birkbeck:

• a competitive salary and pension scheme
• 31 days paid leave
• flexible working arrangements
• generous benefits in the HE sector
• being…