Sustainability Research Assistant

Job Description

Background 

The Sustainable Research Team and Biosciences Education Team have received funding from Education for Sustainability team to work together to develop resources to embed sustainability into the bioscience's undergraduate curricula.  

As scientific researchers, we have an ethical responsibility to reduce the environmental impact of our work. Laboratories consume between three and ten times more energy per square foot than office spaces, and biological and medical research contributes significantly to global plastic waste. Current bioscience students at King's College London (KCL) receive minimal exposure to sustainable practices in labs until they progress to further studies or work. Integrating sustainability concepts into the curriculum from the start will equip students with essential skills, preparing them to incorporate sustainable approaches in their future research. 

Part of this fund is allocated to hire TWO Sustainability Research Assistants to help perform the key tasks of the project during 4 hours a week. Please ensure you have your supervisor's support to take part in this project as the working hours will typically be Monday-Friday 9-6pm.  

 

Responsibilities  

Conduct a systematic review of sustainability teaching in the biosciences and similar fields to understand existing content and research.  

Utilising this review, conduct surveys and focus groups with undergraduate biosciences students to identify learning gaps in sustainability and preferences for delivery of content.  

Analyse survey responses and make suggestions for learning outcomes and delivery methods of new sustainability content in the bioscience curricula.  

Organise and host an away day bringing together module and programme leads, technical staff and other stakeholders involved in the biosciences courses to understand where to place new content, and analysing outcomes from the day.  

Develop initial resources for content in years 1, 2, and 3 and gather feedback from students on content and delivery proposals.  

Organise and host a final workshop with academic and technical staff to demonstrate use of new resources.  

Coordinating with project lead- Sustainability Innovation Lead (Research) Dr Marcelo Salierno  



Qualifications

An undergraduate degree in a wet laboratory-based science.  



Skills

You will have..... 

Knowledge  

Essential: Bioscience and laboratory skills including understanding of contamination and waste  

Desirable: Knowledge of sustainable science or the LEAF programme, including knowledge of using resources efficiently including equipment and consumables, water and energy use.    

Experience  

Essential: Demonstrating experience or lecture experience in bioscience or chemistry lab practicals 

Essential: Experience performing literature reviews.   

Skills  

Essential: Able to use their initiative and work independently  

Essential: Able to work to tight deadlines as this project is only funded for 6 months.   

Desirable: Writing qualitative surveys 

MORE JOBS LIKE THIS

The applicant will support an educational research project in the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral and Craniofacial Sciences. The research involves analysing data collected from a dashboard including teacher feedback, student feedback and self-reflections.

The role includes conducting thematic analyses and working with quantitative data. The successful candidate will be supported in developing their qualitative and quantitative research skills through guidance towards self-directed learning resources and ad-hoc training to enhance their expertise. 

The Research Assistant will contribute to generating meaningful insights to inform educational practices, particularly in assessment and feedback.

Key responsibilities:

  1. Clean, process and manage datasets from multiple excel sources for analysis.
  2. Provide quantitative and qualitative research support.
  3. Assist in conducting thematic analyses to identify themes from qualitative data.
  4. Perform quantitative analysis of student grade performance.
  5. Participate in discussions, communicating and presenting research at meetings.
  6. Contribute to writing reports, presentations and academic publications.


Qualifications

A third-year undergraduate student or above in any subject area.



Skills

Desirable skills: 

  1. Knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods and techniques 
  2. Some understanding of thematic analysis and experience in working with large datasets. 

Required skills:

  1. Basic knowledge of excel.
  2. Ability to work independently and collaboratively remotely.
  3. Ability to manage tasks and deliver results under tight deadlines.
  4. Strong work ethic, commitment to data accuracy.
  5. Ability to work with limited supervision.

To provide practical and emotional support to assist a student on the autism spectrum in taught sessions (lectures, seminars and labs). To support the student with explaining tasks and providing mutual regulation strategies that will ensure widening participation and access, academic progress and student retention in compliance with the Equality Act and the mission of Student Services.

This role is 9.5 hours a week distributed as below:

  • Monday 2.5 hours: 10-11am; 12-1pm (IT class); 2pm-3:30pm
  • Tuesday 3 hours: 11-1pm; 4-5:30pm
  • Wednesday 1.5 hours: 9- 11am
  • Thursday 1.5 hours: 10-11:30am (lab)

There will be breaks in between taught sessions.



Qualifications

Minimum of 5 GCSEs (or equivalent) at Grade A-C including English and Mathematics - Essential
A level qualifications (or equivalent), or equivalent relevant experience - Essential
Educated to degree level in a relevant field or equivalent experience - Desirable 
Relevant further educational or professional qualifications e.g. Mental Health First Aid. - Desirable
 



Skills

Experience

  • Experience of studying in Higher Education - Essential
  • Knowledge of autism spectrum condition - Desirable
  • Some experience/understanding of providing support for individuals on the Autism Spectrum - Desirable

Skills

  • Knowledge of SCERTS/Autism Spectrum Condition - Desirable
  • Mutual Regulation strategies: e.g. deep pressure techniques, grounding and breathing strategies - Desirable
  • Thorough knowledge of the campus - Essential
  • Awareness of disability issues ? recognising the most effective method of communicating during periods of dysregulation - Essential

Attitude

  • Outgoing; great interpersonal skills - Essential
  • Must be able to work calmly under pressure - Essential
  • Must be able to support and manage fluctuating behaviours - Essential
  • Must be willing to attend relevant training sessions arranged by the Disability and Dyslexia Service - Essential

Other - All essential

  • Flexible working timetable
  • This post is subject to a basic DBS check.
  • The ability to meet UK ?right to work? requirements

Job Title:  Digital Fingerprinting Feature Engineering 

Nvidia CSIT Cyber-AI hub intern in feature engineering (up to a maximum of 15 hours per week for 20 weeks). 

The successful candidate will be working as an intern with the Nvidia CSIT Cyber-AI Hub project team on preparing data from multiple sources for AI training. This includes proper data storage, organization, cleaning and feature engineering/preprocessing tasks. 

The candidate will help to improve the current feature selection and engineering process for the development of the behavioral model proposed by the team. In addition, and upon obtaining successful results, the candidate is expected to assist with the integration of the software in the Nvidia Morpheus github page. 



Qualifications

Degree in Computer Science or in a relevant field. 

Have, or be about to obtain an artificial intelligence related postgraduate degree. 



Skills

Essential criteria: 

In depth knowledge of Artificial Intelligent/Machine Learning concepts 

Experience in data management for AI training. 

Understanding in networking and security best practices. 

Strong programming skills (Python) 

Proficient Linux/Windows skills. 

Desirable criteria: 

Experience with ML projects including feature engineering 

Understanding of cyber security concepts, e.g. Cyber Kill Chain and Defense-in-depth. 

Knowledge in the MITRE ATT&CK framework and other threat modelling tools. 

MORE JOBS LIKE THIS