At the Department of Linguistics of the Faculty of Arts at KU Leuven, there is a full-time vacancy of lecturer (100%) within the academic staff in a tenure track (5 years). We want to hire an internationally oriented linguist with expertise in applied linguistics and French, an excellent research record and teaching experience in applied linguistics. KU Leuven’s Department of Linguistics is a highly internationally oriented centre for research and training in linguistics. The research unit is committed to research on a wide range of languages, with a focus on different research methods, theoretical frameworks and phenomena. Candidates have a profile that complements existing expertise within the Department of Linguistics and bridges with other departments and centres within and outside the Faculty of Arts.
Duties
Research
• You carry out research in the field of applied linguistics, in at least one of the following domains, with a focus on French: multilingualism, written language skills or text analysis.
• You use state-of-the-art quantitative and/or qualitative techniques for applied linguistic research in your research.
• You take initiatives to acquire competitive funding and actively participate in the development of future (interdisciplinary) research projects.
• Besides a strong applied linguistic profile, you develop cross-disciplinary research lines and collaborations with scientific fields in which the analysis of multilingualism and multilingual communication also play a central role, such as translation and interpretation science, psycholinguistics, communication science or Digital Humanities.
• You will join the research group in the Department of Linguistics with which your research shows the strongest affinity. At the same time, you support and develop initiatives that build the bridge between your own research and the other scientific domains mentioned above, within and outside the Faculty of Arts (e.g. through active membership in the Centre for Applied Language Research, the Leuven Institute for Artificial Intelligence or initiatives relating to Digital Humanities).
Education
You will provide a teaching assignment in the Bachelor’s in Applied Linguistics (“Bachelor Toegepaste taalkunde”, KU Leuven – Antwerp Campus) and in the Master’s in Multilingual Communication (“Master Meertalige communicatie”, KU Leuven – Antwerp Campus), and possibly one course in the Master’s in Multilingual Communication in Brussels, with a clear commitment to the quality of the programmes as a whole, and in line with KU Leuven’s educational vision. Your teaching assignment will initially mainly be linked to the Antwerp Campus, but you are willing to provide future teaching assignments on other campuses of the faculty, and in teaching programmes related to the above-mentioned programmes, where deemed convenient.
The following course units are indicatively part of the teaching assignment of the sought candidate:
Master Multilingual Communication
• Cases in multilingual communication: French (taught in French; 6 ECTS)
• Digital text design: French (taught in French; 3 ECTS)
• Multimodal text design: French (taught in French; 3 ECTS)
• Research methodology (taught in Dutch, 4.5 out of 9 ECTS)
OR Advanced research methods (taught in English, 4.5 out of 9 ECTS) on Campus Brussels)
Bachelor Applied Linguistics
• French language proficiency 2 (probably from 2024-2025) (taught in French; 2 out of 10 ECTS, i.c.w. a teaching assistant)
• French text analysis and production (probably from 2025-2026) (taught in French; 4 ECTS)
You will also further contribute to the Faculty’s pedagogical project by supervising bachelor’s and master’s theses in the above-mentioned courses and participating in initiatives for the training of young researchers in your area of expertise (e.g. as part of the compulsory doctoral training).
You develop your teaching approach, taking advantage of the opportunities for educational professionalisation offered by the faculty and the university.
Service
• Within the institution, you have an active presence on the Antwerp Campus of the Faculty of Arts.
• You contribute to the further development of the multilingualism and multilingual communication component at the KU Leuven Campus Antwerp, in interaction with the wider region. You represent us in the region and act as a contact person between the university and local bodies where appropriate.
• You are willing to provide academic, social and internal service. You actively work on forms of regional and international cooperation with actors in your field to strengthen the links between the programmes and the field. You participate in information and recruitment events and extra-muros activities.
• In time, you will also take up management tasks on campus and in the Faculty.
Profile
• You have a PhD in (applied) linguistics (or equivalent relevant degree) with a specialisation in French and with a specific focus on multilingualism, written language skills or text analysis.
• Your profile as a researcher with expertise in quantitative and/or qualitative linguistic analysis techniques complements the existing research focus of the Department of Linguistics at the Faculty of Arts.
• You possess excellent didactic qualities for academic teaching and can present an excellent research dossier. Research quality is reflected in several high-level international publications.
• You have organisational skills and a collaborative attitude.
The teaching curriculum for this position also consists of Dutch-language course units. The administrative language of KU Leuven is Dutch. If you have no or insufficient Dutch at the time of recruitment, KU Leuven provides a training offer that should allow you to participate in board meetings. Before teaching in Dutch, you will be given the opportunity to acquire the knowledge of Dutch required for this purpose.
Offer
We offer full-time employment in an intellectually challenging environment. You will be appointed as a tenure-track lecturer for a period of 5 years; thereafter, upon positive evaluation, you will be appointed as a senior lecturer. To facilitate scientific integration and research in the first period, start-up funding of 110,000 euro is offered to new professors who do not have substantial other funding.
KU Leuven is a research-intensive, internationally oriented university conducting both fundamental and applied scientific research. It has a strong inter- and multidisciplinary focus and strives for international excellence. To this end, it actively cooperates with its research partners at home and abroad. It offers its students an academic education based on high-level scientific research.
KU Leuven is well equipped to welcome foreign professors and their families and provides practical support in the areas of immigration and administration, housing, childcare, learning Dutch, partner career coaching, etc.
KU Leuven aims to create an environment in which all talents can develop to their maximum potential, regardless of gender, age, cultural origin, nationality or disability. If you have any questions regarding accessibility or support opportunities, please contact us at diversiteit.HR@kuleuven.be.
Interested?
More information can be obtained from prof. dr. Elke Peters, campus dean of the Antwerp Campus of KU Leuven (Faculty of Arts), elke.peters@kuleuven.be; from prof. dr. Karen Lahousse, coordinator of the Department of Linguistics (Faculty of Arts), karen.lahousse@kuleuven.be and from the dean of the Faculty, prof. dr. Liesbet Heyvaert, liesbet.heyvaert@kuleuven.be.
For problems with online applying, please contact solliciteren@kuleuven.be.
Please enclose with your application a detailed research proposal for a period of 3 years (maximum two pages) and a vision statement on teaching (maximum two pages) in Dutch or in English.
You can apply for this job no later than February 13, 2023 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.
