Professor of Design Practice

Overview

The School of Arts at UWE Bristol is seeking an ambitious and visionary Professor of Design Practice to lead the next phase of growth in interdisciplinary, challenge-led design research, knowledge exchange, and innovation.

With a strong legacy in design excellence—through initiatives like E3 Expanding Excellence in England and The Bridge Studios—we are looking for a strategic leader to shape research and practice-led curricula across our expanding Design Cluster, including Interior and Product Design.

You will play a key role in enhancing the School’s national and international reputation, securing major research funding, and developing impactful partnerships across academia, industry, and the creative sector. You’ll contribute to research-led teaching across design programmes and play a key role in enhancing research excellence and research culture. Your leadership will help position UWE Bristol as a hub for cutting-edge design research aligned with UKRI, Horizon Europe, and other funding bodies.

About You

You will bring an established international reputation in design practice, with a proven ability to attract significant research income and lead substantial projects. You will have a strong record of publication in practice-based research, traditional outputs, or knowledge exchange. You will lead pioneering interdisciplinary research and knowledge exchange in design, securing further major funding to expand the School’s research portfolio.

You’ll play a vital role in cultivating a dynamic and sustainable research culture by mentoring emerging academic talent and supporting their development. Your leadership will help shape innovative, practice-led curricula across UG, PG and CPD design disciplines, while fostering strategic collaborations both regionally and internationally. Through your work, you will elevate the School’s influence within the design and creative industries nationally and internationally.

Why UWE Bristol

The Centre for Print Research, based at UWE’s School of Arts in Frenchay, combines traditional and cutting-edge technologies, experimental, practice-based craft, fine-art and design research ideologies and methodologies, and working across disciplines, it has an outstanding track record with industry, museums and academic institutions; and works collaboratively with high-profile artists, studios, contemporary makers and galleries.

The Bridge Studios, based at UWE Schoof of Arts in Frenchay, is an AHRC-funded interdisciplinary research lab and state-of-the-art creative space for physical and meta production, fabrication, and innovation.

The Digital Cultures Research Centre, located in Bristol’s Watershed, sits at the heart of the School. The unique character of the DCRC lies in its blend of criticality, creativity, and application. The DCRC maps and contextualises emerging practices, critically reflecting on their aesthetics, ethics and impacts. The DCRC interrogates, articulates and creates practical approaches to responsible technological futures.

UWE are one of the largest providers of Higher Education in the South West with 38,000 students and 4,000 staff from right across the globe. Based in Bristol, one of the UK’s most exciting and forward-thinking cities, we are regionally embedded and globally connected, with an established network of employer and academic partners.

We offer a wide range of employee benefits including progressive pay rates, generous annual leave and career average pension schemes as well as retail savings, onsite nursery and opportunities for training and personal development.

We also provide a tailored professional programme to support our academic colleagues in delivering the highest in professional research and teaching standards.

Inclusion and Diversity

UWE Bristol recognises the power of a truly diverse university community. We are proud to be part of a vibrant, multicultural city that celebrates diversity, and we’re always looking for talented people from all backgrounds to join us. Our people are our strength, and diversity enhances our creativity and leads to better decision-making and problem-solving. Bring your talent and ambition to our growing community and find yourself in a stimulating and supportive environment where you’ll thrive.

We particularly encourage applications from global majority candidates as we are currently under-represented in this area of the organisation; however, all appointments are made strictly on individual merit. As a Disability Confident employer, we welcome applications from those who identify as having a disability.

Further information

If you would like to speak to us to find out more about this role, please contact Professor David Greenham – david.greenham@uwe.ac.uk.

Shortlisting is expected to be completed within 2 weeks of the closing date depending on application volumes. Interview dates are still to be confirmed.

UWE Bristol is a campus-based University, and it is vital to our success and the delivery of an outstanding experience for our students that our campuses are dynamic and vibrant places to learn and spend time. This role is therefore campus based, with some opportunity for remote working.

The University has a legal responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK. You will therefore be required to provide evidence of your right to work in the UK, please refer to the Home Office Right to Work Checklist for information on which documents are acceptable.

We may be able to sponsor qualifying candidates for this role under the Home Office Skilled Worker visa route. Please read our Skilled Worker Guidance to assess if you will be eligible. Alternatively, we may be able to endorse international candidates without current right to work in the UK to obtain a Global Talent Visa (Academic and Research route) to take up this post.

Please note that UWE Bristol does not cover any visa or health surcharge costs. You may also wish to explore other visa options which will allow you to work in the UK.

Advice to applicants

We’d love to hear from you – if you are excited about this opportunity, please complete our application form as soon as possible. Tell us how your skills and experience relate to the requirements of this role by describing how you meet each of the essential and desirable criteria listed in the Person Specification section of the Job Description and include specific examples wherever possible.

Once we have completed shortlisting we will let you know the outcome of your application by email, so please check your inbox for updates.