The UZH Digital Society Initiative (DSI) is the University of Zurich's competence center for digital change. In collaboration with the Digital Strategy Board, which advises the university management on strategic issues of digitalization, and the UZH Vice Rectorate for Teaching and Learning, we are tackling these challenges with a special focus on UZH students.

There are currently many projects underway at UZH to promote the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in teaching and research. One such project concerns the use of AI to support students at UZH. It is a line of action within the framework of the UZH Digital Charter, i.e. a strategic project of UZH.
The "AI Buddy" project aims to create an AI system that accompanies UZH students throughout their studies and offers functions that are intended to support study success. These functions cover a wide range of topics, from recommendations on study content and organization, to scheduling and deadline planning during studies up to graduation, and the inclusion of events for or around studies. For information on the vision of the AI ​​Buddy, please refer to the position paper of the DSI Strategy Lab (link to the Strategy Lab).
We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher who will provide scientific support for the development of this "AI Buddy", with your tasks including the following points:

• Conception and implementation of research on the optimal design and configuration of an "AI Buddy"
• Formulation of a research design for evaluation and user studies for an "AI Buddy"
• Conception, implementation and evaluation of empirical studies on AI-supported teaching
• Collaboration with a team of (internal or external) developers with the aim of supporting prototyping and development of the system with suitable data
• Conducting usability and impact studies with prototypes of the "AI Buddy"

The position requires skills in both empirical teaching/didactic research and computer science. Ideally, you have an academic focus in one of these two fields and have experience in the other field. Specifically, you have the following knowledge:

• Doctorate in one of the disciplines relevant to the project: educational science/didactics, computer science, artificial intelligence, computational/data science.
• Experience in empirical/experimental research including data analysis and statistics.
• Basic knowledge in the area of ​​using AI and data in general, ideally already in a teaching context.
• Ability to collaborate with various stakeholders at UZH, particularly with the “AI Buddy” project management and other UZH departments in the area of ​​studies and teaching.
• Experience in a university teaching environment; ideally at UZH.
• German and English, spoken and written.

Information on the application

Applications (letter of motivation, CV, doctoral certificate, references) are reviewed on an ongoing basis. The position is initially limited to two years with the option of extension.