Download Further Particulars

Further Particulars
LECTURER IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Ref Number: KU00000481
1. Keele University
Keele University is a world-class campus-based university committed to providing the highest
quality learning and living environment in which our students and researchers can flourish. The
University makes a unique contribution to higher education in its continued commitment to
encouraging interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary education and research. The University is
consistently in the top ten UK universities for student satisfaction and Keele graduates are highly
prized for their flexibility of thought and the maturity of their social skills.
Keele was the first new post-war UK University of the 20th century and exemplified the innovation
and idealism of the post-war generations, offering a bold, alternative vision for Higher Education.
The University College of North Staffordshire was founded in 1949 and received its Charter as the
University of Keele in 1962. There was a deliberate aim to break away from the pattern of the
specialized honours degree, avoiding as far as possible the divisions between different branches of
study. While there have been changes, the coherence of Keele’s academic vision remains. Half of
our undergraduate students still study two subjects to honours level.
Keele research also helps shape the world – whether it is battling malaria or discovering new
planets. The most recent RAE classified 97% of the University’s research as world leading and of
international importance. The innovations and discoveries of Keele academics are key contributors
to wider social and global issues.
A key strategic aim of the University is to promote a campus environment that embraces and
promotes sustainability, and to become a sustainable community. Keele campus has a range of
energy sources that provide a unique test-bed for research, which can make important
contributions to the development of knowledge and new technologies in this area. The
Sustainability Hub, located in a restored 19th Century farm to the north of the campus, is a flagship
building for teaching and learning. The Hub brings together universities, researchers, local
communities, schools, national and international experts, and those wishing to learn about
sustainability.
As a world-class university, Keele has connections across the globe. The University is in contact
with more than 43,000 of its alumni in 139 countries. This global network includes senior diplomats
and politicians, leading business people and officials in international NGOs, such as the UN. Our
research is also increasingly international in its partnerships, with strong links in every continent.
On campus, there is the opportunity to experience a truly international flavour, as the diversification
of our student population now sees more than 120 countries represented at Keele, while nearly all
undergraduate students get the opportunity to spend a semester or year abroad as part of their
studies at one of the University’s 50 plus partner universities worldwide.
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Facts and Figures:
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University of the Year for Student Experience (The Times and The Sunday Times annual
University of the Year awards, 2017)
1st for Student Satisfaction 2014, 2015, 2016 (National Student Survey)
1st for Student Satisfaction with Course (Guardian University League Table, 2017)
1st for Employment (HESA - Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education, 2016)
1st for Affordability (marbles.com, 2016)
Top 4% of the world’s universities (Times Higher Education World University Rankings,
2015 - 2016)
97% of our research was classified as world leading, or of international importance
(Research Excellence Framework, 2014)
UK’s largest, and one of its most attractive, university campuses, with 617 acres of
landscaped parkland, fields, woodlands and lakes.
Ranked 6th place in the Daily Telegraph’s ‘Britain’s most beautiful universities’ guide.
Safest campus in the West Midlands in the BBC news league tables for crime rates.
Invested over £115 million in our campus and infrastructure.
There are over 3,000 bedrooms on campus and we have one of the highest proportions of
student rooms owned and managed by a university.
We are in contact with more than 45,000 alumni living in 146 countries.
2. Environmental Sustainability activities at Keele
Since 2011, sustainability has been embedded at the heart of the institution’s mission, featuring as
one of six of the University’s overarching Strategic Aims. The University’s new strategic plan aims
to ‘promote environmental sustainability in all that we do’. Keele has committed to embedding a
‘deep green’ sustainability ethos throughout its operations with the aim of becoming an
internationally-recognized sustainability leader within the Higher Education sector. The University
has made strategic investment into supporting the embedding of sustainability into the curriculum
and has established an award-winning reputation due to its whole institution approach to the
embedding of sustainability into the curriculum and student experience.
There is considerable expertise in environmental and sustainability areas at Keele across the
University’s three Faculties - the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social
Sciences, and Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, both in terms of teaching and research.
There is considerable support for interdisciplinary research in the environmental fields, through
different university networks and centres, including the recently formed Institute for Liberal Arts &
Sciences.
The University runs specific sustainability focussed degree programmes such as the
interdisciplinary undergraduate programme BSc Environment and Sustainability, and the
interdisciplinary MSc in Environmental Sustainability and Green Technology, to complement our
existing long-standing BSc Environmental Science and MA in Environmental Politics. In addition
there are sustainability-focussed free-standing elective modules available to all first year students
such as ‘Greening Business’ and ‘Global Warming’. We have also run highly successful
sustainability internship schemes and maintain a strong focus on business engagement around
environment and sustainability issues.
Keele has considerable expertise in environment and sustainability outreach to business, schools,
school teachers and the wider public, through the Keele University Sustainability Hub. The
Sustainability Hub brought in around £6M for the sustainable renovation of a derelict farm building
at the entrance of the campus, and opened in October 2011 and acts as a centre for community,
schools and business sustainability outreach, as well as a home for the MSc in Environmental
Sustainability and Green Technology. Exciting new developments in the use of sustainable and
clean technologies for energy generation on the campus itself are underway with the
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announcement of £15 million funding for a Smart Energy Network Demonstrator, which will make
Keele the largest Smart Energy Demonstrator facility in Europe. This is reflected in an increasing
focus in the institution in energy-related research.
Environmental Sustainability is a priority area for Keele University and is one of the university’s
institutional research priorities as well as a priority area for business engagement and education
activities.
3. School of Geography, Geology and the Environment
Environmental Science and Environment and Sustainability are part of the newly formed School of
Geography, Geology and the Environment, which has its base in the William Smith Building. The
School is responsible for running ten individual degree programmes and also contributes to a
number of programmes run by other Schools, as well as working closely with the Faculty Research
Office to provide an excellent infrastructure to enable staff to pursue high-quality, internationallyrecognised research.
The School consists of 34 academic staff, 5 administrative staff, and 6 technical staff, and provides
an excellent environment for both teaching and research, a significant proportion of which is
interdisciplinary. The School prides itself on the approachability and quality of its staff and has a
strong commitment to providing high quality educational programmes, with a nationally leading
reputation for innovation in teaching, recognised by many awards, invited talks and teaching
innovation grants. Staff within the School have strong connections with the Higher Education
Academy and have an impressive track record of receiving grants for developing innovative
teaching activities and pedagogical research. Two members of the School hold National Teaching
Fellowships. Many Teaching Innovation Awards have been obtained and numerous members of
staff within the School have been recipients of the Keele Teaching Excellence Award. The postholder will be expected to share in the culture of teaching excellence and innovation, and to
demonstrate a commitment to the teaching and development of our environmental programmes
and the promotion of these programmes through a range of recruitment and outreach activities.
The School has close links with the Faculty Research Office to provide an excellent research
infrastructure, with many staff pursuing internationally recognised research. The School is also
very active in delivering the University’s Widening Participation strategy and many staff members
have an outstanding reputation for promoting their subject areas to the public via outreach
activities, supported by substantial external grants. Additionally, the School has been awarded an
Athena SWAN Bronze Award for commitment to recruiting and progressing women in science,
engineering and technology (SET).
4. Environmental Science and Environment and Sustainability at Keele
Environmental Science and Environment and Sustainability are part of the School of Geography,
Geology and the Environment, which is part of the Faculty of Natural Sciences. Keele offers a dual
honours degree pathway in Environmental Science, which is read in combination with another
subject for three years. The most popular combinations with Environmental Science currently
include Biology, Geography and Physical Geography. The Environmental Science degree course
is fully interdisciplinary, and has core material taught by staff from biology, chemistry, geology, and
geography backgrounds, with some optional modules giving students the opportunities to cover
environmental topics from social science perspectives. Students, if they so wish, may concentrate
solely on environmental science modules in their final year, enabling Environmental Science to be
identified as the Major principal subject within the dual honours degree. This development
combines the advantages of the dual honours system with the opportunity for specialization. In
addition, a Single Honours Environmental Science degree route has been introduced recently for
those students who wish to focus entirely on environmental science topics. Similarly, a highly
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interdisciplinary Single Honours Environment and Sustainability programme has been running
since 2009 and has proven very popular for those undergraduate students who want to
concentrate on environmental and sustainability topics during the three years of their degree
studies. Both the Environmental Science and Environment and Sustainability degree programmes
are accredited by the Institution of Environmental Sciences.
A ‘3+1’ collaboration/articulation in Environment and Sustainability with Nanjing Xiaozhuang
University (NXU) in China began in 2010/11 and received its first cohort from NXU taking the final
year of the Environment and Sustainability programme at Keele in 2013/14. This collaboration
requires the delivery of bridging modules by Keele staff that include one module delivered by
distance learning in both the students’ years 2 and 3, and three modules delivered in China in both
years 2 and 3. The person appointed to this post may have the opportunity to contribute to the
delivery of the bridging modules and will be expected to input into the delivery of the final year of
the programme at Keele.
Throughout the Environmental Science and Environment and Sustainability degree programmes,
we emphasise the career-relevance of the discipline and have strong links with local environmental
employers. In addition, both programmes provide students with the option of taking a work
placement year. Staff within Geography, Geology and the Environment have strong connections
with the Higher Education Academy and have had several grant successes for developing
innovative teaching activities and pedagogical research. The new Lecturer in Environmental
Science will be expected to show a commitment to the teaching and development of environmental
science and environment and sustainability, and be involved with promoting these subject areas
through a range of recruitment and outreach activities.
The School has an excellent research environment and infrastructure, including newly refurbished
laboratories, and a very good range of high quality specialised equipment. Staff in Environmental
Science and Environmental Sustainability are members of the Geography, Geology and
Environment Research Centre. Within the Centre and other parts of the Faculty of Natural
Sciences, there is considerable expertise in the physical environment, environmental science,
renewable and sustainable energy and clean and environmental technology, environmental
analysis, pollution abatement, terrestrial ecology, hydrogeochemistry, chemical ecology, and the
public understanding of science and environmental citizenship, both in terms of teaching and
research. There is also major expertise in social and economic aspects of the environment,
sustainable development and regeneration and environmental policy in the School of Politics,
International Relations and the Environment. This has enabled a very strong interdisciplinary
environmental grouping to be established, which is gathering increasing momentum and is very
well placed to take advantage of new environmental and sustainability initiatives. In addition, we
have introduced a highly interdisciplinary MSc course in Environmental Sustainability and Green
Technology that draws upon Keele’s internationally recognised expertise in research and teaching
on environmental issues.
5. Job Outline
We wish to appoint a Lecturer in Environmental Science. Applications are welcomed from dynamic
and enthusiastic individuals committed to high quality teaching and research in the field of
Environmental Science and who have interests that complement our research strengths in this
area, while broadening the scope of our teaching expertise. Applications from candidates working
in all areas of environmental science will be considered, but are particularly welcome from
candidates with a strong background in primary environmental data acquisition and modelling
techniques, and their application to terrestrial and wetland soil biogeochemistry, and the ability to
connect with Keele’s broader environmental sustainability agenda. This post also presents many
new opportunities for the development of synergies in both teaching and research between
environmental science and geology, physical geography, chemistry, biology, as well as with
environmental policy and law in the social sciences.
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Candidates will be expected to contribute to the delivery of our undergraduate programmes in
Environmental Science, Environment and Sustainability, and undergraduate teaching as part of a
collaborative arrangement with Nanjing Xiaozhuang University in China, in addition to teaching on
other undergraduate and postgraduate degree pathways, as appropriate. The post-holder will also
be expected to possess an excellent track record of innovative research, and will have the potential
to develop and/or maintain internationally competitive research, underpinned by publications and
grant success, that complements our existing research strengths in environmental science.
The successful candidate will have a PhD in an environmental science-related discipline and will
have a strong commitment to delivering high quality undergraduate teaching, including supervision
of undergraduate and postgraduate research projects, and the development and delivery of field
courses. The post-holder will have the skills, enthusiasm and flexibility for teaching across a wide
range of environmental science and environmental sustainability topics, and will also contribute to
recruitment activities and administrative duties within our Environmental programmes.
6. Applicant Information
The post offered is a lectureship in Environmental Science and is available from 1st July 2017.
7. Enquiries
Informal enquiries may be made to Dr Zoe Robinson, University Director of Education for
Sustainability and Programme Director for Environmental Science and Environment and
Sustainability, Tel: 01782 734303; email [email protected], or to Dr Stuart Egan, Head of
School, Tel: 01782 733174; email [email protected]
8. Closing Date
The closing date is 8th June 2017
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