Professor in Digital Media

The School of Arts at UWE Bristol invites applications for a visionary Professor with an international reputation in Immersive Media, Evolving Media, and/or Digital Media Arts. This strategic role will shape the future of digital media research, innovation, and knowledge exchange, enhancing the School’s leadership in impactful, challenge-led research and creative practice.

Our School has a rich track record of pioneering digital and creative industries research, leading landmark large-scale initiatives such as the national Immersive Arts project, SWCTN, Bristol & Bath Creative R&D, and REACT, and collaborating in major projects including My World and Virtual Realities. This Professorship is a unique opportunity to build on that foundation and lead the next chapter of innovation and impact.

You will lead pioneering research in emerging digital media—spanning immersive content, AR/VR/XR, spatial storytelling, and audience experience—while securing major funding and mentoring researchers. You’ll contribute to research-led teaching across screen, media, and digital programmes, and play a key role in enhancing research excellence. Strengthening partnerships across the creative and digital sectors, you’ll help position UWE Bristol as a global hub for creative industries research.

About You

You will bring a strong international profile in collaborative, impactful research or practice in emerging media technologies. You have a proven track record of securing research income, leading substantial interdisciplinary projects, and publishing across traditional, practice-based, or KE outputs. You’re passionate about mentoring academic talent, shaping innovative UG and PG curricula, and supervising PGR students. Your leadership will help advance the School’s national and global reputation.

Why UWE Bristol?

The Digital Cultures Research Centre sits at the heart of the School. Informed and enriched by UWE’s long-standing partnership in Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio, the unique character of the DCRC is its mix of criticality, creativity and application. In an environment of rapidly transforming media cultures, the DCRC maps and contextualises emerging practices and critically reflects on their aesthetics, ethics and impacts. The DCRC interrogates, articulates and creates practical approaches to responsible technological futures.

The Bridge Studios is an AHRC funded interdisciplinary research lab and a state-of-the-art creative space for physical-meta production, fabrication, and innovation.

The Centre For Print Research, based in UWE’s School of Arts, has links and partnerships with world leading academic institutions; an outstanding track record in working with industry; and works collaboratively with high profile artists, studios, contemporary makers and galleries.

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.

Add your individuality to ours

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, 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 woul 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.