[Hcitaly] [PostDoc Position] Post-Doctoral Researcher in Interactive Child Information Retrieval

Post-Doctoral Researcher in Interactive Child Information Retrieval at the Faculty of Informatics, at USI - Università della Svizzera italiana Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) is a young and lively university, a hub of opportunity open to the world where students are offered a quality interdisciplinary education in which they can be fully engaged and take center stage, and where our researchers can count on having the space to freely pursue their initiative. Established in 1996, USI is in constant evolution, always taking on new challenges while remaining true to its three guiding principles: quality, openness, and responsibility. The chair of the LUXIA Group<https://luxia.inf.usi.ch/> (https://luxia.inf.usi.ch/) , Dr Monica Landoni, invites applications for one post-doctoral researcher position to work for 3-year on NSF international project, SOL<https://solandchildren.wordpress.com/> (https://solandchildren.wordpress.com/) , in collaboration with Dr Sole Pera<https://solepera.github.io/> (https://solepera.github.io/ ) from the Web Information System – Software Technology Department, TU Delft, NL. In project SOL, we explore how to leverage the scaffolding metaphor to create a theoretical framework to extend the Search-As-Learning (SAL) paradigm to children and bring it into the primary school classroom. This framework will serve as a foundation to shape co-designed, innovative, human-driven Child Interactive Information Retrieval (CIIR) technologies fostering learning to search and searching to learn that can be seamlessly integrated with a range of search tools to ease information access for learning for specific target audiences and contexts. ***The Post-Doctoral Researcher Position*** The successful candidates will be offered the possibility to work in a dynamic research team and in a multidisciplinary and international scientific environment. As a member of the SNSF International project SOL team, the Postdoc will be based at USI for three years, coordinating interactions between the two PhDs at USI and TU Delft, and contributing to development and dissemination tasks, and assisting them in the development work throughout: WP3 – Elicitation of User Data (initial usage), WP4– Exploration of Scaffolding Needs, WP5 – Iterative Design and Evaluation, WP6 – Evaluate Searching for Learning. The Postdoc will play a significant role in managing the complexity of dealing with the connections across the various WPs. They will serve as a conduit between the two sites, keeping track of the integration of the different components while implementing implicit and explicit scaffolding SOL provides. With the ability to work independently, the Postdoc will need a strong technical background in both HCI and IR to facilitate the integration of different forms of scaffolding produced along the way. ***Candidate’s profile*** The ideal Post-Doctoral candidate must meet the following requirements: • Experience with publication in international peer-reviewed journals and conferences. • Ability to work independently and autonomously, to plan, direct, and make progress on own research. • Excellent oral and written English, the official language for the research; understanding of or interest in learning Italian is welcome. • Willingness to travel between Lugano and Delft, and abroad to conduct research and attend conferences. • Experience with qualitative and quantitative data collection, analysis, and management in a multi-disciplinary environment; • Experience with theory and practice of either of these areas of study, i.e., Interactive Information Retrieval, Child Computer Interaction, theory and practice; social engagement processes (e.g., participatory systems modelling, semi-structured interviews, workshops, focus groups), with an interest to acquire skills in the others. ***Contract terms *** The position requires full-time commitment and is not compatible with further professional activity. The successful candidate will work under the supervision of both Landoni and Pera. The post-doctoral researcher will have the possibility to collaborate and interact with a team of other doctoral and post-doctoral researchers working on other research projects, both in USI and TU, as well with an international network of collaborators. Workplace is USI Università della Svizzera italiana, located in Lugano, Switzerland. Availability to travel to the other main site of the project, Delft and abroad (for purposes of collaboration and research) is required. Starting date is as soon as possible. ***The Application*** Applications should contain: (1) A personal one page statement in which the applicant describes their research interests and the motivation to apply to join project SOL specifically, (2) A complete CV, including (i) date of birth, (ii) nationality, (iii) names of two references, and (iv) publication record, and (v) other information relevant for the position (e.g., experience in participatory design). (3) Names and contact information (e.g., email and telephone) of two professional references supporting your application. The application deadline is ***September 30, 2025***. Please send your application in electronic form in a single PDF file directly to ***monica.landoni(a)usi.ch*** (also requests for further information), using [SOL-PostDoc] in the email subject. We will start interviewing qualified applicants shortly after the submission deadline. As an institution that values diversity, USI particularly encourages applications from women and from all individuals from underrepresented group. Sole Pera, PhD Associate Professor - Web Information Systems TU Delft Van Mourik Broekmanweg 6 – 3.W.800 2628 XE Delft, The Netherlands https://solepera.github.io/ @DrCh0le