Professor / Associate Professor / Assistant Professor (Computational Media)

Professor / Associate Professor / Assistant Professor (Computational Media)

School of Digital Media and Communication, Mahindra University

Position Summary

The School of Digital Media and Communication (SDMC) at Mahindra University has pioneered the academics of computational media in India. Its flagship programme, the Bachelor of Technology in Computation and Media, is the first of its kind in the country and integrates digital and computational technology, humanities, social sciences, and media studies to nurture storytellers in digital and AI media environments. Some of the strands that our current students pursue are game design, immersive storytelling, instructional design, VFX, and computational creativity.

SDMC now invites applications for a faculty position in this highly specialized area of Computational Media from candidates with strong interdisciplinary expertise in technology and the humanities. The faculty member will contribute to teaching, research, curriculum development, and academic leadership in a programme that integrates computing, communication, design, storytelling, and emerging digital technologies. The curriculum emphasizes project-based learning, continuous assessment, studio pedagogy, and interdisciplinary collaboration. (Mahindra University)

Profile

The ideal faculty member combines the analytical rigour of a computer scientist with the creativity of a designer and the curiosity of a researcher. They should be capable of mentoring students who aspire to become UX designers, computational media researchers, creative technologists, game developers, visualization specialists, digital storytellers, AI-enabled media innovators, and entrepreneurs. The role aligns with Mahindra University’s emphasis on integrating computing, media production, human-centred design, immersive technologies, and continuous project-based learning within its B.Tech. in Computation & Media programme. (Mahindra University)

The faculty member will teach and develop courses in one or more of the following areas:

• Computer Graphics
• Optimization Techniques for Computational Media
• Programming for Computational Media
• Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
• User-Centred Design Methods
• Data Visualization and Communication
• Computational Creativity
• Mobile Application and Cloud Game Design

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Key Responsibilities

Teaching

The successful candidate will:

• Teach undergraduate and graduate courses in computational media and related disciplines.
• Design studio- and project-based learning experiences integrating theory with hands-on implementation.
• Supervise laboratory work involving programming, interactive media, visualization, game development, and immersive technologies.
• Mentor multidisciplinary student projects involving computing, communication, design, AI, and media production.
• Contribute to curriculum innovation aligned with emerging technologies and industry practices.
• Participate in continuous assessment through projects, presentations, demonstrations, design critiques, portfolios, and applied research.

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Research

Develop an internationally visible research programme in one or more of the following areas:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• User Experience (UX) Research
• Interactive Systems
• Computer Graphics and Visualization
• Visual Analytics
• Computational Creativity and AI-assisted Design
• Generative AI for Media
• Creative Computing
• Digital Storytelling
• Serious Games and Game Technologies
• Mobile Computing
• Immersive Media (AR/VR/XR)
• Information Visualization
• Design Computing
• Human-Centred AI
• Digital Humanities
• Media Technologies

Faculty are expected to:

• Publish regularly in leading journals and conferences.
• Secure competitive external research funding.
• Build interdisciplinary collaborations across computing, communication, design, psychology, and social sciences.
• Establish partnerships with industry, government, and cultural organizations.
• Supervise undergraduate research, Master’s theses, and PhD scholars.

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Service

Responsibilities include:

• Curriculum development and accreditation activities.
• Student mentoring and academic advising.
• Laboratory development and management.
• Organizing workshops, hackathons, exhibitions, conferences, and industry engagement activities.
• Contributing to institutional governance and committee work.
• Supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology transfer initiatives.

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Desired Areas of Expertise

Applicants should demonstrate expertise in several of the following:

Programming and Software

• Python
• C++
• Java
• JavaScript / TypeScript
• Swift or Kotlin
• OpenGL / WebGL
• Unity or Unreal Engine
• React Native or Flutter
• Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)

Computational Media

• Interactive Media Systems
• Graphics Programming
• Visualization Systems
• Game Development
• Mobile Application Development
• Creative Coding
• Physical Computing
• Computational Design
• AI-assisted Content Creation

Human-Centred Computing

• User Research
• Interaction Design
• UX Evaluation
• Accessibility
• Cognitive Ergonomics
• Design Thinking
• Participatory Design

AI and Data

• Machine Learning
• Generative AI
• Large Language Models
• Computer Vision
• Data Analytics
• Visual Analytics

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Required Qualifications

• PhD from a top university in Computational Media, Computer Science, or a closely related discipline. Post-candidacy PhD scholars, as well as those with a firm intent to pursue PhD, may be considered.
• Demonstrated excellence in teaching and research commensurate with level. (0-5 years acceptable for Assistant Professor.)
• Demonstrated trajectory of publications, projects, and other forms of evidence relevant to the intersection of computational science and digital media studies.
• Ability to connect disciplinary boundaries through application- and project-based experiential learning methods.
• Ability to bring industry networks for classroom and institutional collaborations.
• Excellent written and oral communication in English.

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Preferred Qualifications

Preference will be given to candidates with deep practice in one or more of the following:

• AI Development and Implementation in Newsrooms
• AI Development and Implementation in Media Studios
• Computational Creativity
• Immersive Storytelling (AR/VR/XR)
• Game Design, especially Serious Games
• Interactive Instructional Design
• Digital Humanities
• Media Analytics and Forensics

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Teaching Philosophy

The successful candidate should embrace:

• Experiential and project-based learning
• Interdisciplinary collaboration
• Ethical and responsible AI
• Research-informed teaching
• Industry engagement

Interested candidates may share their CV at: tejaswini.mandapati@mahindrauniversity.edu.in with the subject line – “Professor / Associate Professor / Assistant Professor (Computational Media)”