Description

Carnegie Mellon University invites applications for teaching track and research track faculty positions at all levels (i.e., Assistant, Associate, and Full Professor) at its location in Kigali, Rwanda.

CMU-Africa seeks highly qualified candidates with a Ph.D. from leading research universities and a passion for the digital transformation of Africa, to contribute to CMU-Africa’s innovative, interdisciplinary graduate teaching and research. Core research faculty will form an interdisciplinary team creating knowledge and innovations of relevance to the acceleration of inclusive digital transformation of Africa. They will also provide the intellectual leadership for some knowledge transfer activities such as workshops and meetings in relevant topic areas.

We welcome applicants with interests in the development and application of information and communications technology to address societal challenges in an African setting. Areas of particular interest include artificial intelligence and machine learning, cybersecurity and privacy, software engineering and development, computer and semiconductor technologies, robotics, IoT, technology policy, and technology entrepreneurship with applications to health, finance, agriculture, energy, and education.

We are seeking both teaching-track and research-track faculty. While these are not tenure-track lines, research and teaching faculty tracks are well-established professional tracks at CMU with renewable, multi-year contracts that go through the same review and promotion process (with different criteria) as tenure-track faculty. Teaching and research faculty are integrated into all CMU-Africa activities, take on leadership positions, and receive significant support to achieve scholarly excellence. They are expected to actively collaborate with other faculty at CMU-Africa, the Pittsburgh campus, and partner African universities in their scholarly activities. The teaching and research track presents long-term career growth opportunities along well-established promotion lines to advance through Assistant, Associate, and full Teaching/Research Professor levels. Both tracks are encouraged to engage in teaching and research. They differ in their focus.

Teaching vs. Research Track Positions

Teaching-track faculty are responsible for teaching courses, supervising student research projects, engaging in broader aspects of our educational programs and collaboratively improving our educational offerings. Teaching-track faculty members are also expected to conduct research or engage in other activities that advance them professionally, provided those activities are consistent with the department’s overall mission.

Research-track faculty responsibilities include creating, developing, carrying out and managing innovative research programs, particularly in areas of importance to Africa. CMU-Africa research-track positions are fully funded for one year providing a convenient ramp for the research faculty to establish a strong research program and pursue external research funding opportunities. Research-track faculty members supervise graduate students and postdocs (often in collaboration with other CMU faculty, including faculty on the Pittsburgh campus) and are expected to engage in teaching courses.

CMU-Africa faculty in both tracks are expected to work closely with colleagues on the main campus and may visit the main campus for both short-term and longer-term (e.g., a semester or a year) for establishing and growing collaborative efforts in both teaching and research. Similarly, faculty members on the main campus will have opportunities to come to Kigali to teach and carry out joint research with CMU-Africa faculty

About CMU-Africa

Carnegie Mellon University, a world leader in information technology, engineering, and artificial intelligence, started its graduate programs on the ground in Kigali, Rwanda in 2012, with the goal of educating the next generation of technology leaders in Africa. With strong support from the Government of Rwanda, the Mastercard Foundation, Smart Africa, the Mandela Institute for Developmental Studies (MINDS) and other partners, CMU-Africa has grown to more than 300 full-time resident graduate students from 22 countries in Africa, with plans to grow to over 400 students in two years. CMU-Africa graduates are having significant positive impact and rising quickly to technology leadership positions to take advantage of Africa’s unique opportunities. CMU-Africa is on a strong positive trajectory, having moved into a new building in 2019 as the anchor tenant of the Kigali Innovation City and doubling its size in the past two years.

CMU-Africa offers three master’s degree programs: Information Technology, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Engineering Artificial Intelligence. The location has about 25 faculty members dedicated to teaching, research and entrepreneurship activities. Some examples of current research projects include culturally sensitive robotics for Africa, using machine learning to detect cardiovascular diseases and to identify and classify malaria parasites in blood smears, and building secure and interoperable digital identity systems.

Building on CMU-Africa’s significant growth and success in its first decade, CMU-Africa is starting an ambitious, well-resourced program to develop a network of African higher learning institutions that will work collaboratively in education, knowledge creation and technology entrepreneurship with the goal of supporting inclusive digital transformation throughout Africa.

Qualifications Application Instructions

Your application package should consist of the following:

1. A cover letter (stating clearly whether you are applying for a teaching-track or a research-track faculty position);
2. A curriculum vitae;
3. A research statement, typically three to five pages, outlining a compelling short-term and long-term vision for a research program that is aligned to CMU-Africa’s goal of supporting the inclusive digital transformation of Africa and may reference potential collaborators at CMU-Africa, CMU-Pittsburgh and other higher learning institutions in Africa and beyond;
4. A teaching statement, typically on the order of two pages, outlining both your experience and philosophy, a listing of courses you are interested in teaching and presenting a longer-term vision for training Africa’s next generation of technology thought leaders, researchers, and entrepreneurs; and
5. A diversity statement, typically on the order of two pages, outlining how you have contributed to as well as plan to contribute to diversity, inclusion, and equity

Three letters of recommendation should be requested individually through the confidential letter request function in Interfolio. You may wish to send an email to each of your letter writers to alert them that they will receive an automated email from Interfolio requesting that they upload their letter of recommendation (sometimes the automated Interfolio emails are mistaken for spam).

Carnegie Mellon University is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing the diversity of its community on a range of intellectual and cultural dimensions. Applications from candidates who have a demonstrated track record in mentoring and nurturing women and students from groups traditionally underrepresented in engineering and information technology are strongly encouraged. Applications review will start on December 1, 2024 and will continue until the positions are filled.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Carnegie Mellon University shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR §§ 60-1.4(a), 60-300.5(a) and 60-741.5(a). These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Moreover, these regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, protected veteran status or disability.