Professor and Head of the School of Computing Science
WORLD CHANGERS TOGETHER
The University of Glasgow is the fourth oldest university in the English-speaking world. It has consistently been at the forefront of innovation, transforming lives and delivering world-changing impact for almost 600 years.
We are proud of being nationally and internationally recognised:
- Scottish University of the Year by the Times & Sunday Times in 2024
- World’s top 100 universities (QS World University Rankings and Times Higher Education)
- UK top 25 University (Guardian University Guide)
- Top 20 universities in the world for sustainability (QS and THE)
With a unique history and reputation for excellence, Glasgow remains strongly focused on the future, investing in infrastructure and people to be the home of the world changers of today and tomorrow. The University is ambitious to build upon its position as a leader in the field of data science and AI, with related projects involving Glasgow researchers currently supported by more than £100m in funding. As such, there has never been a better time to join the University.
The University of Glasgow is now seeking an innovative, forward-thinking leader to join the College of Science & Engineering as Professor and Head of the School of Computing Science.
The School of Computing Science offers a rich research-led teaching programme at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and is home to world-leading research and innovation, and strategic industry partnerships.
We offer an excellent, inclusive research environment and attract ~£7m/annum in research funding. We have hosted 30 EPSRC-funded projects and 10 EU-funded projects in recent years.100% of our impact was judged world-leading in the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, and 97% of our research papers were considered internationally excellent or world-leading.
Alongside driving the success of the School across all areas of its academic mission, the postholder will play a key role in the College Management Group, contributing to the overall leadership of the College and working with colleagues to drive excellence in Science and Engineering, and across the wider University.
The post-holder will bring ambition, a track record of delivery and of leading strategic change in a complex, research-led environment through a collegiate and inclusive leadership style.
Thank you for your interest in the University of Glasgow; we look forward to hearing from you.
The College of Science & Engineering
The College of Science & Engineering has been at the forefront of delivering world-renowned teaching, learning and research in science and engineering since 1451.
Our groundbreaking research and its significant impact on the global economy make the College a dynamic and inspiring place to work. With research spanning six academic schools, we engage in everything from fundamental discoveries to addressing major societal challenges and developing innovative technologies.
Our teaching, informed by our world-class research, equips graduates with the knowledge and skills to become future leaders. We are deeply committed to the University values and the development of our staff at every stage of their careers.
The Schools
The College of Science & Engineering is home to six Schools and a national facility, renowned for their world-leading research and a wide range of internationally recognised research-led undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes.
- School of Chemistry
- School of Computing Science
- James Watt School of Engineering
- School of Geographical & Earth Sciences
- School of Mathematics & Statistics
- School of Physics & Astronomy
- Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC)
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
The College of Science & Engineering is committed to fostering equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in everything we do. We value the unique perspectives and experiences that each member of our community brings and we strive to create an environment where everyone feels welcome, supported and empowered to succeed.
The School of Computing Science is committed to these values and has held an Athena SWAN Bronze Award since 2015. The School provides resources to eliminate gender bias and create an inclusive culture that values all staff and students, with a focus on women and those from ethnically diverse communities. An active EDI Committee runs events throughout the year to help create a more inclusive working environment.
Some of our recent highlights and achievements include:
- Our female undergraduate intake has increased from 20% to 32% over the past 5 years
- Our percentage of female professors has risen from 7% to 21% over the past 5 years
- Our percentage of female PGR graduates is in the upper quartile of the Russell Group
About the School of Computing Science
Since 1957, when Glasgow became the first university in Scotland to have an electronic computer, we have built a reputation for the excellence of our Computing Science research and our graduates. Today, our School is one of the foremost in the UK, setting itself the highest standards in research, and research-led learning and teaching.
The School of Computing Science is internationally recognised:
- Sixth in the UK in the Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide
- UK top 15 in the Complete University Guide
- 100% world-leading on research impact (REF 2021)
Staff numbers have grown significantly in the past few years, from 46.6 research-active staff submitted to REF2021 to around 90 academic staff in 2025, including five on our Singapore campus. We have around 40 research staff, 28 professional services staff and around 180 PhD students. We are home to 1,350 undergraduate students and 520 postgraduate students.
The School strives to be an impactful world-class research and teaching centre at the intersection of theoretical and applied computing. Our contributions to science, industry, education and society to date include:
- One of the world’s leading research groups in Human-Computer Interaction, which has pioneered haptics, multimodal interaction and VR/XR/AR
- One of the world’s leading research groups in Information Retrieval, home of the widely-used Terrier platform for search engine experiments
- The birthplace of the Glasgow Haskell Compiler, the world’s most influential functional programming language system
- Home to the Centre for Computing Science Education, a distinctive and ground-breaking research group in all aspects of computing science pedagogy
Our internationally renowned research is driven by five research sections:
- EAP: Education and Practice
- FATA: Formal Analysis, Theory and Algorithms
- GIST: Interactive Systems
- GLASS: Computing Systems
- IDA: Information, Data and Analysis
Our work reflects a multidisciplinary approach and a commitment to shaping the digital future, with cross-cutting research themes involving members of multiple sections aiming at:
- Strengthening cyber security
- Advancing healthcare technologies
- Driving low-carbon and sustainable computing
- Harnessing media and data science
- Innovating in programming languages
- Creating understandable autonomous systems
Research impact
We continue to build upon our achievements in REF2021. The School currently hosts five fellowships from the European Research Council, a Research Chair and a Fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering, and a five-year fellowship from the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
We lead a Keystone project from Responsible AI UK and are partners in another. We have significant involvement in TransIT – the UK's largest research hub dedicated to rapidly decarbonising transport using digital twins.
We are a founding member of the Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA), which promotes international excellence in research, education and knowledge exchange across the Scottish universities. Research is intertwined with our graduate and undergraduate programmes and greatly influences the content of our academic curriculum.
About the School of Computing Science
Research Computing Facilities
The School facilitates state-of-the-art research by its staff and students with purpose-built high-performance and AI-accelerated computing clusters, as well as dedicated infrastructure to support specialised research into topics such as networking and cybersecurity.
Overall, the School and College manage around £3.7M worth of infrastructure that supports research across Computing Science, including a new AI-accelerated compute cluster, associated research storage and virtual machine serving infrastructure.
Teaching Highlights
We equip students to lead in a world shaped by data, algorithms and intelligent systems.
Our degrees span core computing disciplines and cutting-edge topics such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, software engineering, data science and human-computer interaction.
Our curriculum is designed in collaboration with employers to ensure alignment with current and future industry needs. Our degrees combine deep theoretical understanding with hands-on experience that prepares students for innovation, research and impact in industry and beyond.
Our students have opportunities for study abroad across Europe, North America and Asia, along with industry placements and collaborative research. They can therefore develop the technical skills, creativity and problem-solving mindset that define the next generation of computing professionals.
Our students:
- Learn from internationally recognised researchers, many of whom lead major international collaborations and contribute to influential policy and industry initiatives
- Benefit from the School’s engagement in the pan-University Centre for Data Science & AI
- Receive personalised guidance through academic advisers, small-group tutorials and mentoring schemes.
In the 2023/24 academic year we proudly graduated 205 BSc students, including Computing Science, Software Engineering and combined honours; 65 MSci students; and 35 BSc students from the Graduate Apprentice programme in Software Engineering.
We offer a range of routes, including standard, faster, integrated master’s (MSci/MEng), graduate apprenticeship, and international partnership degrees with institutions in Dubai, Singapore and Thailand.
Our programmes are designed to give students both strong theoretical foundations and hands-on experience through projects, industry engagement and research opportunities.
Undergraduate Studies
At the undergraduate level, our degree programmes include a BSc/MSci in Artificial Intelligence, a BSc/MA/MSci in Computing Science, a BSc/BEng/MEng in Electronic & Software Engineering and a BSc/MSci in Software Engineering.
The curriculum is designed to integrate lectures, tutorials, laboratory practicals and independent research projects, ensuring that students develop both a strong theoretical foundation and essential practical skills.
Postgraduate Studies and Graduate School
At postgraduate level, the School offers six MSc degrees tailored to different backgrounds and career goals: Computing Science, Cybersecurity, Data Science, Human Computer Interaction, Information Technology and Software Development.
Our Graduate School has over 130 postgraduate students and is a collaborative, inspiring environment for ambitious scientists ready to take the next step in their journey.
Our cutting-edge facilities combined with world-leading expertise deliver an outstanding postgraduate experience. It has strong international partnerships and close links to industry, so whether students choose a PhD or MSc by Research, we provide them with expert supervision, professional development training and opportunities to present their research on the world stage.
We co-host two EPSRC-funded Centres for Doctoral Training: DiveIn for diversity-led, mission-driven research, and Socially Intelligent Artificial Agents (SOCIAL).
External Partnerships Highlights
The School is committed to a range of important international partnerships, including many that are rooted in teaching and research.
The University of Glasgow Singapore delivers a joint degree in Computing Science with the Singapore Institute of Technology from their custom-built Punggol campus. The school also partners with King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang in Thailand and UPES in India to offer articulation degrees on a 2+2 basis.
Our dedicated placement team helps connect students with opportunities for internships or placement years with organisations ranging from multinational tech companies (eg Amazon, Google and JP Morgan) to startups, charities and research institutes.
The Glasgow Computing Science Innovation Lab is a physical and virtual space where industrial partners who conduct research and innovation collaborate with our staff and students. We co-create new knowledge and technologies to advance both Computing Science and the businesses of our collaborators.
The Centre for Data Science & AI, a cross-University initiative, facilitates the initiation and expansion of sustainable collaboration across disciplines, industries, public and government, to have impactful research that ultimately will make the world better.
We deliver an annual Python programming workshop named Computer Science Academy Africa in African countries.
The Centre for Computing Science Education partners with the Scottish Government in delivering Scottish Teachers Advancing Computing Science (STACS), aiming at advancing computing science at school level.
The Centre is also working with Skyscanner on an innovative new pilot, aiming to encourage software engineers to earn a teaching qualification and inspire the next generation of coders, while still building their careers outside the classroom.
Environment
School staff are located primarily in the Sir Alwyn Williams Building on Lilybank Gardens, on the Gilmorehill campus in the West End of Glasgow. Some groups are based within the Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre (ARC).
The ARC co-locates diverse research teams and ideas in an innovative space, designed to stimulate cross-disciplinary activities by removing disciplinary and organisational structures and external barriers. The School of Computing Science engagement in the ARC includes research into social XR, social acceptance of immersive technologies, and communication and productivity.
Job Description
The Head of School reports to the VP/Head of College and performs a pivotal and instrumental academic leadership role in the University’s organisational structure and carries significant accountability for providing a coherent academic vision and direction for the School, through the Vice Principal/Head of College to the Principal and ultimately the University Court.
The School is a key organisational unit of the University, each led by an appointed Head of School with accountability for the strategic leadership and development of the subject disciplines within the School. The Head of School is financially accountable and the recognised budget holder for their respective School, and a full member of the College Management Group. The Head of School is responsible for determining and successfully delivering the strategic direction of the academic disciplines within its remit aligned with the strategic imperatives of the College supporting the School’s research and knowledge transfer; learning, teaching & scholarship and internationalisation ambitions, and contributing to the success of the University. This role embodies responsibility for academic staff and students in the School.
Job Purpose
- Champion the provision of high-quality teaching, research and scholarly activities within the School ensuring a stimulating, collegial and well-managed environment. The post holder will work in partnership with a School Executive.
- Contribute to the delivery of the College’s strategy including promoting excellence in the School’s contribution to the University’s Research & Knowledge Exchange, Learning & Teaching and Internationalisation strategies.
- Be accountable for ensuring the overall delivery of the student experience
- Be accountable for the effective governance and leadership of the school including, adherence to academic, research and relevant policy related principles.
- Lead, develop and motivate a high performing School and its staff, engendering a culture of excellence, accountability and transparency, ensuring alignment with the University’s Strategic Plan.
- Be responsible for the effective and efficient use of allocated resources to maximise the School’s contribution to the College and University strategy.
- Play a major role in the strategic development of the College.
Main duties & responsibilities
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Develop and deliver a compelling, cohesive and ambitious vision for the School aligned to College strategic objectives.
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Actively influence and contribute to the development and delivery of a compelling and sustainable University strategy.
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Manage the School’s academic, physical and financial resources to maximize its contribution to the growth and success of the University.
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Provide academic leadership and direction to the School, embracing the range of subject disciplines represented in the School, by providing a coherent academic vision and direction accordingly.
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Lead, develop and motivate a high performing School and its staff, engendering a culture of excellence, accountability and transparency, including responsibility for the career development and performance management of academic staff within the school.
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Attract, manage and retain staff to achieve academic excellence, supported by Performance and Development Review processes, and contribute to the successful development of the School and the College.
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Identify, promote and contribute resources to developing the School’s research strengths and broader research portfolio. This will include identifying and supporting opportunities for research and programme developments internally, externally and internationally, both within existing funding streams, and where possible, through multi-disciplinary collaboration.
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Formulate and implement local aspects of the Learning and Teaching strategy that enhance the quality of the provision, ensuring that students are engaged fully and that the quality assurance of all provision is carried out in line with University policies.
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Promote engagement of students in critical evaluation of the education provision on an ongoing basis, taking cognisance of the needs of the diverse student body.
- Ensure academic staff in the School design, develop and deliver (undergraduate and postgraduate) degree programmes and relevant courses for agreed interdisciplinary degree programmes to the necessary standards.
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Actively develop and promote the School’s international academic profile and enhance its international recruitment and partnership development in line with the University’s Internationalisation strategy.
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Develop School strategies and associated financial and operational plans in partnership with staff and the VP/Head of College; to allocate School resources accordingly, with clear objectives, targets and associated measurements.
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Support cross-School and College developments in research, teaching and internationalisation.
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Support and promote knowledge transfer between the University and non-academic users of research through appropriate mechanisms.
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Ensure close links are maintained with the relevant professional, statutory and regulatory bodies and that the School meets the required quality, accreditation training and development needs of the professions.
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Encourage, support and facilitate entrepreneurial activity, identifying and pursuing external funding and income–generating activities for the School.
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Ensure that all relevant University policies and procedures are communicated across the School.
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Forge and maintain external relations essential to the School’s business, promoting the University as required to external bodies and organisations and enhancing its reputation, profile and influence in Scottish, UK and international forums.
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Act as an ambassador for the School and College raising its profile externally including internationally and embodying good practice.
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Deputise, when required, for the Head of College, in connection with College business.
Qualifications
Essential
Skills & Experience
Essential
Personal Qualities
- Ability to identify, create and articulate a coherent academic vision for the School
- Ability to combine and integrate the skills and expertise of highly motivated staff into multi-disciplinary teams, developing and building upon existing collaborations as well as creating/facilitating new opportunities
- Ability to engage a range of internal and external stakeholders to collaborate in identifying problems and appropriate solutions, within agreed timetables and budgets
- Ability to manage resources to ensure that the School is self-sustaining from income generated from research funders and other sources including teaching and research student supervision
- Ability to motivate academic staff to create, develop and deliver innovative postgraduate taught degree programmes, working closely with Heads of College
- Experienced in encouraging and supporting entrepreneurial activity
- Fellowship of a subject specific society and international visiting appointment at a leading (top 200 global or top 3 in a specific country) international university
Campus development plan
Our Vision
Over the next 10 years, the major investment will expand our campus footprint by 25%, creating a new urban quarter with the University at the heart of a revitalised west end. This is the largest development since the creation of the original campus in 1870.
This is a unique opportunity for a University to extend the boundaries of its historic core in a central city location. It will create:
- New learning and teaching facilities
- Refurbishment and repurposing of existing iconic buildings for specialist uses
- Identification and design of social spaces that support the student and community experience.
The expansion of our Gilmorehill campus into the 14 acre, former Western Infirmary site will transform the West End of Glasgow. The Masterplan for the site will incorporate:
- New learning and teaching facilities supporting our students and making sure they get the best in modern teaching and learning styles and approaches
- Creation of a Research Hub, housing large-scale multidisciplinary projects and incubator space for spin out collaborations with industry. This will encourage further innovation development
- New public cycle and pedestrian routes and a new central square which will link Byres Road to the up-and-coming cultural quarter for the West End, with new links to Kelvingrove and the newly-refurbished Kelvin Hall
- Refurbishment of five listed buildings: The Chapel, the Outpatients building, the Macgregor building, the Tennent Institute and Anderson College
- Commercial opportunities, including a hotel, restaurant, bars and cafes
- The state of the art Learning and Teaching Hub adjacent to the Boyd Orr building on University Avenue will be completed next year.
Find out more
Living in Glasgow
A UNESCO City of Music, a vibrant arts and culture scene, a food-lover’s delight, and a shopper’s paradise. Just some of the highlights of the ‘friendliest city in the world’. As well as that accolade by the Rough Guides poll, Glasgow has also been named a must visit destination by publications including the New York Times, The Guardian, and Wanderlust.
Music
The city hosts an average of 130 music events a week catering for every taste; from rock to rap, and classical to country. Glasgow also has a world class club scene playing host to some of the world’s top DJs.
Shopping
Outside of London’s West End, Glasgow is frequently voted the best place for shopping in the UK. A must-visit destination for any shop-a-holic, it houses high street chains, international designers, and independent retailers. The West End, home to the University of Glasgow, is bustling with vintage fashion, vinyl stores, and second-hand bookshops.
Arts and Culture
Glasgow’s arts scene has gone from strength to strength, and is the base for five internationally renowned performing arts companies including the National Theatre of Scotland and Scottish Ballet. The city has several world-class museums, which are free to the public, and the city’s architecture is a work of art in itself.
Food and drink
You can be in Glasgow and taste the world with its many diverse restaurants, cafes, and bars. And if you’ve yet to sample the delights of haggis and whisky, Glasgow is the place to be.
The City and Beyond
Glasgow has all the opportunities and excitement of a big city but its compact size means you can quickly travel from one vibrant district to the next. You could be relaxing in one of its many parks, before shopping in the quirky West End, and then dancing until the wee small hours in the Merchant City.
And when you fancy getting out of the city you can reach the stunning Loch Lomond in just 30 minutes, climb one of our many breath-taking Munros, play golf at one of Scotland’s many world-class courses, visit one of our ancient castles, or go further North and search for Nessie! Scotland has also just been named the world’s most beautiful country by Rough Guides.
Relocating to Glasgow
Choosing to relocate to Glasgow is a big decision. There are numerous things to be considered, such as the costs of moving, the cost of living, and where exactly to relocate to. We have created two guides to aide you in the decision making process.
Find out more on relocating to Glasgow at the below link:
WORLD CHANGERS TOGETHER
WORLD CHANGING GLASGOW 2025
Our outstanding disciplinary breadth and expertise has enabled us to make world-changing advances in fields as diverse as medicine, physics, linguistics, public policy and global development.
The key to our success is our talented staff and students pushing back at the boundaries of knowledge and understanding together.
Our World Changers Together strategy recognises the fundamental importance of a culture of open cooperation: not just as colleagues and mentors or students and teachers, but as a community of discovery that reaches beyond its walls and draws inspiration and strength from its connections and partnerships worldwide: excellence that's part of something bigger. The strategy is articulated across three themes:
COMMUNITY
- People centred, globally engaged
CONNECTIVITY
- Collaboratively minded, digitally enhanced
CHALLENGES
- Solution focused, impact oriented
Find out more
How to Apply
Full details of the role and how to apply can be found by visiting our website:
The closing date for applications is the 30th of November at 23:45.
For a confidential, informal conversation about the role, please contact Martina Cooper (Director of Strategic Recruitment and Talent Acquisition) at martina.cooper@glasgow.ac.uk.
Terms & Conditions
It is the University of Glasgow’s mission to foster an inclusive climate, which ensures equality in our working, learning, research and teaching environment. We strongly endorse the principles of Athena SWAN, including a supportive and flexible working environment, with commitment from all levels of the organisation in promoting gender equity.
Our values
The future holds innumerable challenges for our sector, our society, and our world. We will have to adapt and change what we do and what we offer if we are to navigate these successfully. Our strategy and approach may evolve as the landscape changes, but our values will remain constant: a fixed point of certainty in uncertain times.
We have identified our values in consultation and partnership with our staff and student community. Living and upholding these values will ensure that we remain true to the spirit of our community and ourselves:
Ambition and Excellence
- We strive for excellence through our work
- We defend academic freedom globally
- We recognise and celebrate shared success
- We have an unrelenting focus on development
Curiosity and Discovery
- We innovate and solve problems together
- We lead by influence and example
- We engage with lifelong learning and personal development
- We learn from our mistakes
Integrity and Truth
- We uphold honesty, integrity and fairness
- We share our work widely and generously
- We do the right thing, not the easy thing - or we don’t do it
- We take responsibility
An Inclusive Community
- We are one Glasgow team, and we care for and respect one another
- We advocate for diversity and believe in variety as a vital part of a healthy university
- We champion education as an engine for social progress
- We practise and advance sustainability