Research manager Leuven Interdisciplinary Language Institute

The Leuven Interdisciplinary Language Institute (LILI) is a newly established platform for the development and support of interdisciplinary research and education around language. By bringing together researchers from KU Leuven's three science groups, LILI aims to put language firmly and sustainably on the agenda of interdisciplinary research and public debate on major societal challenges, such as the role of language in a hyper-diverse society, the relationship between language and power, the use of large language models, etc. In addition, the institute also wants to build a strong impact network with societal actors from different domains in order to respond to questions from practitioners and set up a process of knowledge co-creation. With the establishment of LILI, KU Leuven aims to take a leading position internationally and become a strong pole of attraction for scholars and students engaged in the study of language.
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Responsibilities

For the start-up and sustainable development of the institute, LILI is looking for a research manager, who, together with the Board of Directors and the institute's steering committee, will set the strategic lines and help realize LILI's mission. The research manager will be jointly responsible for the organizational and management activities of the institute, as well as for increasing its (international) visibility, organizing networking opportunities, setting up new research collaborations and support in attracting (international) research funding on behalf of LILI.

The research manager's duties include:

• Facilitating interdisciplinary contacts among the institute's members and with external research partners, through the organization of lecture series, symposia, brainstorming sessions and matchmaking events, among others
• Identifying potential funding opportunities for interdisciplinary research
• Actively supporting project proposals from LILI members
• Developing a training offer for (young) researchers with a distinctly interdisciplinary profile, via summer/winter schools and training modules, e.g. in the form of micro-credentials
• Stimulating transdisciplinary cooperation with social and industrial partners, e.g. by setting up an impact network and organizing network events
• Expanding LILI as a broad center of expertise that actively contributes to the public debate on language

Profile

Given the broad scope of the institute, involving a large number of research disciplines represented at KU Leuven (across the three science groups), and the strong focus on transdisciplinary collaboration with non-academic partners, the research manager to be appointed will preferably have relevant experience in setting up and managing interdisciplinary projects with consortia of different sizes.

Candidate research managers of LILI ideally match the following profile description:

• You have a PhD in a field connected to LILI's research priorities
• You have a strong affinity with language (research)
• You have experience with interdisciplinary research and are able to see connections between various scientific disciplines
• You have good management skills and relevant experience with (some of) the tasks described in the above job description
• You have excellent communication skills and are able to build an (international) network of contacts with academic and non-academic partners
• You have a high language proficiency level for Dutch and English.

Offer

• Appointment as a postdoctoral collaborator (scale 44 - doctor-assistant) for a period of three years, renewable once
• Upon request, a part-time appointment (80%) is negotiable
• You will have a varied and challenging mandate in a dynamic team of researchers from various fields. The mandate offers growth opportunities and the chance to take on greater responsibility within the team.

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Geert Brône, tel.: +32 3 502 15 16, mail: geert.brone@kuleuven.be or Prof. dr. Karen Lahousse, tel.: +32 16 32 48 16, mail: karen.lahousse@kuleuven.be.

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