Sessional Lecturer - CSC2233HS - Topics in Storage Systems

Date Posted: 11/29/2024
Req ID: 40885
Faculty/Division: Faculty of Arts & Science
Department: Department of Computer Science
Campus: St. George (Downtown Toronto)

Description:

Course number and title: CSC2233HS - Topics in Storage Systems - Vector Databases in Modern AI Applications

Please note, this position is a 0.5 FCE appointment; lecture section codes are different for student enrollment purposes only. 

Course description: Cutting-edge AI applications rely on custom storage systems that store billions of dense vectors, search through them quickly, and retrieve relevant results within milliseconds. Examples include LLM-based AI code assistants, image and video search, computational chemistry, generative AI using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and recommending videos or music (YouTube, Spotify). These applications embed data -- images, user preferences, or molecule structure -- as dense vectors, and then rely on fast search to find related vectors. The recent explosion of such AI applications has given rise to a new class of specialized storage system: the vector database, or VDBMS, which combines vector storage with semantic search over stored vectors.

Estimated course enrolment: 20 students per section

Estimated TA support: one 30-hour TA position

Class schedule: Wednesdays 11:00am-1:00pm

*Please note, the delivery method for this course is currently in-person. Please note that, in keeping with current circumstances, the section delivery method may change as determined by the Faculty or the Department.   

Sessional dates of appointment: January 1, 2025 - April 30, 2025

Salary: Sessional Lecturer I = $13,604.00; Sessional Lecturer I - Long Term = $14,408.00; Sessional Lecturer II = $15,211.00; Sessional Lecturer II - Long = $15,637.00; Sessional Lecturer III = $16,282.00; Sessional Lecturer III - Long Term = $16,713.00;

Please note that should rates stipulated in the collective agreement vary from rates stated in this posting, the rates stated in the collective agreement shall prevail.

Minimum qualifications:

• Graduate degree in Computer Science or closely related field required.
• Demonstrated expertise in topic area of the course required.
• Strong organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills required.
• Teaching experience at the university level or equivalent industry level preferred.

Preferred qualifications:

• Previous experience teaching undergraduate/graduate courses in the field of Computer Science preferred.
• Demonstrated evidence of excellence in teaching preferred.
   

Description of duties:

• Delivering the lectures in-person on campus as scheduled.
• Maintaining course administration including: course website on quercus, marking schemes, lectures, tutorials, assignments, tests, and final assessments.
• Providing appropriate contact time outside of class to students, through office hours, email, the course website and/or the course bulletin board.
• Preparing the breakdown of hours for TA duties in the course and supervising the TAs.
• Ensuring that tutorials and/or labs are delivered appropriately by the TAs.
• Managing the grading for the course, which is largely done by the TAs, and carrying out any grading not handled by the TAs.
• Invigilating the final exam if applicable.
• As there are other sections of the same course this term: coordinating with the other instructor(s) to maintain consistency (this includes using common assignments and a common final exam).
• Managing the grades and submitting final course grades, including the timely completion and release of grades and feedback to students throughout the term.

While there is a lot of room for creativity in course delivery, instructors will be expected to follow the basic content and style used by the faculty members who normally teach the course, and must get approval from these faculty members or from the Associate Chair for any substantial changes to the course content or assessment methods. Instructors will also be expected to consult with the department’s Teaching Support group when creating the course syllabus, final exam, and test(s).

Application instructions: All individuals interested in this position must submit their application by using the following application form. The direct link is: https://forms.office.com/r/aeF8Tz1gfP. This includes submitting an updated Curriculum Vitae and the CUPE 3902 Unit 3 application form available at https://uoft.me/CUPE-3902-Unit-3-Application-Form. If you have any questions, please email: sessional_lecturer@cs.toronto.edu.

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The University is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As such, we strive to make our recruitment, assessment and selection processes as accessible as possible and provide accommodations as required for applicants with disabilities.

If you require any accommodations at any point during the application and hiring process, please email: sessional_lecturer@cs.toronto.edu.

Closing Date: 12/05/2024, 11:59PM EDT

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This job is posted in accordance with the CUPE 3902 Unit 3 Collective Agreement. 

It is understood that some announcements of vacancies are tentative, pending final course determinations and enrolment. Should rates stipulated in the collective agreement vary from rates stated in this posting, the rates stated in the collective agreement shall prevail.  

Preference in hiring is given to qualified individuals advanced to the rank of Sessional Lecturer II or Sessional Lecturer III in accordance with Article 14:12 of the CUPE 3902 Unit 3 collective agreement.

Please note: Undergraduate or graduate students and postdoctoral fellows of the University of Toronto are covered by the CUPE 3902 Unit 1 collective agreement rather than the Unit 3 collective agreement, and should not apply for positions posted under the Unit 3 collective agreement.