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Project and Research Staff Member - Care 100% fixed term- Project duration 3 years

Research Assistant Music & Drama 70% (Composition & Music Theory)

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Project and Research Staff Member - Care 100% fixed term- Project duration 3 years

Genk, Belgium

Employee

Project and Research Staff Member - Care

100% fixed term- Project duration: 3 years

LUCA School of Arts
Location: Campus Genk

LUCA School of Arts is a creative hub for nearly 5,000 people: over 4,000 students and 800 staff members. We provide an educational and research environment in which they can further develop their creative talents. We do this through higher-education programs in the broad domain of the arts and through artistic research, embedded within the associated Faculty of Arts at KU Leuven. LUCA has campuses in four cities: Ghent, Brussels, Leuven and Genk. LUCA is a member of the KU Leuven Association and the European University Alliance FilmEU.

The anticipated starting date is 01/09/2026.

Assignment

You will work on a project aiming to strengthen the international visibility and attractiveness of the European programs and research at LUCA Campus Genk. The project focuses on attracting a diverse group of international students to the European master programs and establishing new European research trajectories.

Alongside this vacancy for Project and Research Associate – Care, the project will also recruit a Project and Research Associate – Sustainability, a Communications Officer, and a Project & Community Manager. You will join a team of researchers and lecturers.

You will collaborate closely with the researchers and lecturers of the Caring and Design Research cluster and with the European master Response-Able Futures.

As a project and research associate, you will work on specific thematic areas relevant to this domain and the region. You will establish connections between the theme and local organisations (profit, non-profit, cultural) and integrate the outcomes into the educational programs.

You will work intensively with the Project & Community Manager on defining the theme, implementing the project, and disseminating results, given the importance of local embedding. You will focus on one main theme, while making clear links to adjacent themes and establishing their presence within the international programs.

You will be responsible for acquiring various European-oriented research and educational projects that act as leverage for the research and educational activities.

Responsibilities

In close consultation with the content coordinators of this project and the Research & Projects Office, you develop a detailed timeline and action plan, focusing on the acquisition of European educational and research projects in which local partners play a key role.

• You map out a network of relevant local stakeholders.

• You integrate local stakeholders and challenges into the various educational formats of the European master programs.

• You deliver a (limited) number of masterclasses within the relevant European master programs.

• Together with the research coordinator and project coordinator, you help define the project’s content trajectory and hold regular meetings in which you critically discuss progress and outcomes.

• You participate in the meetings of the research cluster, the European master, and the project team.

• You support the Project & Community Manager in developing a long-term vision and plan for the sustainability of the European master programs at LUCA Genk.

• You attend relevant regional and local events to represent and disseminate the research and educational work.

Profile

You hold a PhD with a topic linked to the broad field of design (product design, game design, interaction design, visual design, architecture, …).

• You have experience with, or at least a strong affinity for, the broad design field and the topic of care.

• You have experience with project-based work and acquisition, can maintain oversight, and meet deadlines efficiently.

• You have strong organisational skills and combine a hands-on mentality with a highly reflective mindset.

• You have strong academic writing skills and communicate confidently and fluently in meetings, presentations, etc.

• You have proven proficiency in English. During the selection process, you may be asked to provide a TOEFL (or equivalent) certificate with a minimum score of 79. Knowledge of Dutch is considered an asset.

• You are collegial and able to collaborate effectively.

• You support the mission, vision and policies of LUCA School of Arts.

Offer

LUCA offers a full-time fixed-term contract (100%) for a period of 3 years in the position of Research Staff Member (salary scale 502).
The project runs for three years and may be extended.

Commuting costs using public transport or bicycle are reimbursed. You receive a teacher’s card, discounts via collective purchases, and the option to take out a hospitalisation insurance at a favourable rate.

While remote work is possible, we expect a minimum presence of three days per week on campus in Genk. Your work may also involve some international travel and occasionally evening work (e.g., attending local pitching or networking events).

Upon hiring, up to 10 years of relevant professional experience may be recognised. If teaching experience exceeds 10 years, all teaching experience will be taken into account.

You will join an environment where respect and integrity define our core approach, where sustainability and diversity are seen as assets, and where quality is our driving force.

LUCA aims to allow all talents to flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or disability. We welcome all talented individuals who recognise the added value of diversity and want to help shape an inclusive organisation.

Interested?

Your application file must include:
• a motivation letter
• a CV
• a portfolio including 5 relevant items (publication, design, research or educational contribution), with a maximum of one explanatory paragraph per item
• a diploma certificate (and, if applicable, an equivalence statement for the required diploma)

Applications can be submitted until 3 May 2026 via the CV Warehouse job application system. Only complete applications will be considered.

A first selection will be based on the application files. Afterwards, you may be invited for an interview.

More information can be obtained from Niels Hendriks, project lead: niels.hendriks@luca-arts.be

For questions about the application procedure, contact: personeelsdienst@luca-arts.be
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Research Assistant Music & Drama 70% (Composition & Music Theory)

Leuven, Belgium

Employee

Research Assistant Music & Drama 70% (Composition & Music Theory)

LUCA School of Arts

Location: Campus Lemmens – Leuven

LUCA School of Arts is a creative hub for almost 5,000 people: more than 4,000 students and 800 colleagues. LUCA offers them an educational and research environment to further develop their creative talent. We do this through higher education courses in the broad domain of the arts, and through artistic research, embedded within an associated Faculty of Arts at KU Leuven. LUCA has campuses in four cities: Ghent, Brussels, Leuven and Genk.

LUCA School of Arts is a member of the KU Leuven Association.

We believe that art and design have an impact on society and the world in many ways. Respect and integrity are our guiding principles, diversity and sustainability are our assets, and quality is our driving force.

We are currently working on the role of LUCA as an actor in society, on opening up our multi-campus reality to a network, on the evolution of the five original training institutes into a joint laboratory, and on responding to training and research questions from the outside world.

The Artistic Practices expertise network of LUCA School of Arts offers a position for a candidate interested in pursuing a doctoral research project in the arts, embedded within the Composition & Music Theory expert team.

Assignment

You will develop an artistic research project that investigates multilayering in music as a contemporary continuation and reinterpretation of contrapuntal thinking. This research approaches counterpoint not merely as a historical or technical frame of reference, but as an epistemological model of thought. Counterpoint is thereby understood as a means of generating knowledge and meaning through musical organisation. This approach aligns with twentieth-century and contemporary musical practices, in which identity, recognisability, and differentiation are central concepts.

The musical core of the research lies in the compositional organisation of simultaneous layers in time and form, with particular attention to polyrhythm, polymetre, and polyformal structures (formal layering), textural layering, and the ways in which these parameters contribute to perception and cognitive tension for both listener and performer. Multilayering is thus understood as a dynamic field of tension between the identity of individual layers and their mutual interaction, resulting in a rich, stratified musical fabric.

From this musical polyphony, the project investigates how multilayering can function as a transferable model that can also be meaningfully deployed in multi- and interdisciplinary contexts. Music may in this respect assume a leading role or relate to other disciplines on an equal footing. The developed model then functions as an organising framework that provides structure and coherence to the interdisciplinary dialogue, without a priori privileging any single discipline. While the performative arts constitute a logical interdisciplinary constellation in this perspective, the application remains explicitly open to a wide range of disciplines.

The doctoral project pursues two closely interrelated objectives:

the deepening and rethinking of multilayering in relation to contrapuntal thinking, conceived as a contemporary translation thereof, whereby counterpoint is approached not merely as a historical-technical practice but as a framework for musical organisation; the research connects a reflection on contrapuntal principles with experimental and conceptual approaches to simultaneity, and systematically investigates the underlying structural, perceptual, and compositional mechanisms, which are artistically explored and elaborated;
the transposition and further articulation of the multilayered framework developed in the first objective into a transferable compositional and conceptual framework, capable of structuring inter- and multidisciplinary artistic practices, and of being implemented and critically evaluated within composition education at LUCA School of Arts.

The artistic output consists of a compositional portfolio and associated interdisciplinary performances, which function as the primary research practice.
In addition, the trajectory results in an autonomous research output in which systematic reflection on the artistic practice is undertaken, with the aim of making the generated insights explicit, analysing them, and positioning them within the context of doctoral research.

The doctorate will be supervised within the Co-creation in Music cluster, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Pieter Schuermans (LUCA School of Arts/ KU Leuven).

In addition, your assignment includes a teaching component of 20%, for example within composition, music-theoretical courses, analysis, research methodology, or through supportive and organisational tasks within the programme.

Your appointment as a researcher can only commence once your PhD proposal has been approved by the Doctoral Committee in the Arts (LUCA – KU Leuven).

Responsibilities

Responsibilities within the 50% research assignment

You develop and realise an artistic research project on multilayering in music as a contemporary continuation of contrapuntal thinking, as described above.
You investigate how identities, perceptions, and interactions between musical layers can be shaped and explored within a compositional practice.
You explore how this musical polyphony can be transposed into multi- and interdisciplinary contexts and document this through artistic output, reflection, and theoretical-methodological underpinning.
You further elaborate the doctoral proposal into a dossier to be submitted to the Doctoral Committee in the Arts, in close collaboration with your supervisor.
You actively participate in the activities of the Co-creation in Music cluster (seminars, exchanges, presentations) and in the broader research life within LUCA and KU Leuven.
You regularly present the progress of your research at internal and external forums, both nationally and internationally.

Responsibilities within the 20% teaching assignment

You provide a limited teaching contribution, for example within composition, music-theoretical courses, analysis, research methodology, or related domains.
You supervise students in their artistic development, using your own research and practice as a source of inspiration for teaching and mentorship.
Where applicable, you take on supportive and organisational tasks within the programme, always in dialogue with the team coordinator and involved lecturers.

Candidate Profile

You hold a master’s degree in music (preferably in composition, music theory, music creation, or a related field).
You have demonstrable compositional skills and a strong interest in artistic research.
You have an affinity with concepts such as counterpoint, texture, multilayering, perception, and interdisciplinarity, and are willing to deepen these in a research-oriented manner.
You are capable of independently developing and documenting an artistic research project, both through artistic output and through written and oral reflection.
You have strong communication skills and can express yourself fluently in Dutch and English in accordance with the language requirements of Flemish higher education. At the start of your teaching assignment, you must hold CEFR level B1 in the language of instruction (Dutch).
You collaborate constructively within an interdisciplinary team and actively contribute to an open research and learning environment.
You have good organisational skills and can manage deadlines, planning, and the combination of research and teaching.
You are willing to further develop your professional practice and expertise and take initiative within research groups, seminars, and presentations.
You endorse the mission, vision, and core values of LUCA School of Arts and contribute to an inclusive, respectful, and dynamic artistic-academic climate.
You are willing to participate occasionally in international collaborations or working visits.

Offer

At LUCA, you will work in an environment where respect and integrity define our basic attitude, where sustainability and diversity are seen as strengths, and where quality is our driving force. In the coming years, LUCA aims to position itself as an active societal actor, transform its educational institute into a laboratory, complement its offer with demand-driven initiatives, and unlock its multi-campus reality as a network.

LUCA School of Arts seeks to create an environment in which all talents can fully develop, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality, or disability. We therefore welcome all talented individuals who recognise the added value of diversity and wish to help shape an inclusive organisation.

We offer a fixed-term appointment (70% mandate) for a period of two years in the position of assistant (salary scale 502), starting on 1 September 2026. Subject to a positive evaluation, the appointment can be renewed twice for two years. More information on salary scales can be found on the website of the Flemish Department of Education (www.ond.vlaanderen.be).

Selection Procedure

Applications must include a dossier consisting of:

a motivation letter
a developed research proposal (template for doctoral research proposal in the arts: https://www.luca-arts.be/en/doctorate-in-the-arts)
a CV
a diploma certificate (and, if applicable, an equivalence statement)

Applications can be submitted up to and including 15 May 2026 via CV Warehouse. Only complete applications will be considered.

A first selection will be made based on the submitted dossiers.
You may be invited for an interview in the week of 1 June 2026. During the interview, shortlisted candidates will be asked to present their research project and their vision on education and research to the selection committee. Subsequently, the selected candidate will be asked to further develop the proposal together with the supervisor and submit it to the doctoral committee.

Interested?

For more information, please contact Dr. Pieter Schuermans, Director of Artistic Practice Expertise: pieter.schuermans@luca-arts.be

For further information on the application procedure, please contact personeelsdienst@luca-arts.be

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