Research Fellow I

About Us:

The Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities (LKYCIC), established in 2012, is a research centre at the Singapore University of Technology and Design. LKYCIC aims to stimulate research on cities and urbanisation, and explore the role of technology, design, and policy in providing urban solutions.

We are looking for a full-time Research Fellow broadly interested in educational sciences, AI in education, and creative problem-solving to join the project titled “Shaping the Innovators of Tomorrow: AI’s Role in Managing Failure and Innovation in Education.” This interdisciplinary project explores how Generative AI (Gen-AI) tools influence students’ resilience, creative problem-solving, and willingness to innovate. Specifically, we aim to understand how personalized feedback from Gen-AI enhances or hinders these skills across diverse educational contexts. We employ mixed-methods research, including quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews, performance tasks, and reflective journals, to gain a comprehensive understanding of these dynamics.

About the Position:

This position is ideal for someone who is excited about applied educational research and is looking to consolidate or further develop their experience in AI-enhanced learning environments and educational psychology within a dynamic, interdisciplinary team. The candidate will be expected to:

• Conduct literature reviews on Gen-AI in education, creative problem-solving, and resilience.
• Collaborate with the Principal Investigator and research team to refine project research design, including the formulation of research questions and hypotheses, and developing methodologies for mixed-methods research.
• Design and develop interventions, workshops, and educational tools that integrate Gen-AI to enhance resilience, creative problem-solving, and willingness to innovate.
• Coordinate and implement interventions using Gen-AI tools across diverse educational settings, including post-graduate courses and vocational education.
• Develop and validate surveys and questionnaires to measure students’ resilience, creative problem-solving abilities, and perceptions of Gen-AI.
• Prepare, conduct, and analyze performance tasks and reflective journals to assess students’ engagement and innovation in response to Gen-AI interventions.
• Collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data using statistical tests (e.g., paired t-tests, ANOVA) and thematic/content analysis.
• Assist in preparing manuscripts and reports for publication in high-impact journals.
• Communicate research findings to public and private stakeholders, and actively participate in interdisciplinary research discussions.

Duration:

This is a contract position. The term of appointment will be 2 years, extensible to longer terms upon satisfactory performance and funding availability.

Requirements:

• A PhD in Educational Sciences, Learning Sciences, Educational Technology, Psychology, or related fields. Fresh PhD graduates who have submitted their thesis are encouraged to apply.
• Strong interest in Generative AI and its impact on education, with a focus on resilience, creative problem-solving, and innovation.
• Demonstrated skills in mixed-methods research, including survey design, quantitative data analysis, and qualitative methods (e.g., thematic analysis).
• Experience in designing and developing educational interventions, workshops, or tools, particularly in technology-enhanced learning environments.
• Experience in conducting interventions and evaluating educational technologies is an advantage.
• Excellent writing and communication skills, with a track record of research publications preferred.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to coordinate multi-site research activities.
• Familiarity with statistical analysis tools (e.g., SPSS, R, or equivalent) and qualitative data analysis software (e.g., NVivo, ATLAS.ti) is desirable.

How to Apply:

Interested applicants are to submit their full CV, cover letter (optional), two references, and two English writing samples to Thijs Willems. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled.