Online Module Lecturer Computer Science at Kaplan, Remote, £Freelance Rate

Reference number: JR258356
Location: Remote

Contract Type: Freelance

Salary: Competitive

We are seeking independent freelance contractors with expertise for either of two role pathways supporting postgraduate students studying with the University of Liverpool Online:

(1) online module teaching in multi-agent systems, robotics, cloud computing, cyber forensics, or applied cryptography; or
(2) dissertation advising across the broad field of Computer Science.

Applicants may apply for one or both pathways, where they meet the relevant criteria. For cloud computing teaching, applicants must hold current AWS Academy Educator status. Successful candidates will also receive Honorary Recognised Teacher (Online) status from the University.

Depending on the pathway, you will either deliver engaging online teaching informed by current research and/or industry practice or guide postgraduate students through independent dissertation research across a broad range of Computer Science topics

Depending on experience and programme requirements, there may also be opportunities to contribute module content development.

Find out more about our programmes: Online Courses Programmes | University of Liverpool

Role Pathways and Subject Areas:

Applicants may be considered for either or both of the following pathways:

• Teaching pathway - specialist expertise in one or more of the following areas:

  • Multi-agent systems, including agent architectures, coordination, collaboration, distributed decision-making, and responsible agentic AI

  • Robotics, including autonomous systems, sensing and perception, localisation, planning, control, simulation, and human-robot interaction

  • Cloud computing with AWS, including cloud architecture, compute, storage, networking, security, serverless technologies, containers, DevOps, and solution design

  • Cyber forensics, including digital evidence acquisition and preservation, forensic investigation methods, file systems and operating-system artefacts, network and cloud forensics, malware analysis, incident response, forensic tooling, legal and ethical considerations, and evidential reporting

  • Applied cryptography, including symmetric and asymmetric cryptography, hashing and message authentication, digital signatures, key exchange and management, public key infrastructure, secure protocols, cryptographic implementation, post-quantum considerations, and analysis of practical vulnerabilities

• Dissertation advisor pathway: ability to supervise postgraduate dissertations across the broad field of Computer Science, aligned with the advisor’s academic and/or professional expertise

What we do

At Kaplan Higher Education UK, we are experts in online Higher Education (HE). Working closely with our partner universities, our vision is to become a world leader in online learning, making higher education accessible to anyone with the potential and drive to succeed.

We develop, deliver, support and market, sector-leading online higher education programmes to a global student audience. Our innovative and unique online pedagogy utilises the latest digital learning technologies to provide teaching excellence and a world-class student experience.

We work in collaboration with our university partners to develop engaging, interactive learning materials using the latest digital learning technologies. This approach blends our unique online pedagogy with the research-led subject expertise of our partners.

Role Responsibilities:

Module Lecturer

As a freelance module lecturer, you will:

• Deliver online teaching sessions

• Facilitate discussion forums and student engagement

• Hold virtual office hours

• Respond to academic queries and student communications

• Mark and moderate formative and summative assessments

• Provide constructive, high-quality feedback

• Support students in achieving their learning outcomes

• Integrate relevant research, professional practice, practical demonstrations, case studies, datasets, laboratory activities, and appropriate cloud, robotics, cyber-forensics, or cryptographic tools into online teaching

Dissertation Advisor

• Advise postgraduate students throughout the dissertation lifecycle, from topic refinement and research planning to final submission

• Guide research design, methodology, ethical approval, academic writing, and project management, and mark or second-mark dissertations as required

Content Development (where applicable)

• Create or review lecture materials (e.g. lecturecasts)

• Design or review assessments and learning activities

• Develop or review formative tasks (e.g. multiple-choice questions)

Requirements:

Essential Criteria

• For teaching applicants: PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, Digital Forensics, Cryptography, or a closely related discipline

• HE teaching qualification and/or Advance HE Fellowship (FHEA/SFHEA/PFHEA) and/or PGCE (or equivalent) with substantial teaching in higher education

• For teaching applicants: demonstrable specialist expertise in multi-agent systems, robotics, cloud computing, cyber forensics, or applied cryptography, supported by relevant teaching, research, or industry practice

• For cloud computing teaching applicants: current AWS Academy Educator status, with the ability to support delivery using AWS Academy learning resources and environments

For dissertation advisor applicants:

• Experience supervising postgraduate dissertations or substantial experience supporting independent Computer Science research projects, including relevant ethics processes

• PhD in Computer Science or a closely related discipline

Experience

• Teaching in Higher Education (e.g. seminars/tutorials)

• Online teaching using platforms such as Zoom or Teams

• Use of virtual learning environments (VLEs)

• Assessment marking and moderation in HE

• Providing constructive, relevant feedback to support student learning

• Assessing ethical approval applications (for postgraduate dissertation supervision only)

• Developing HE content and assessment materials that enhance learning and employability (for content development only)

• For teaching applicants: applying contemporary tools and methods relevant to multi-agent systems, robotics, cloud computing, cyber forensics, or applied cryptography in teaching, research, or professional practice

• Designing practical, authentic learning activities that help postgraduate students connect theory with real-world computing challenges

Skills

• Ability to deliver engaging online teaching

• Effective communication and explanation skills

• Ability to support and motivate students

• Ability to provide clear, constructive feedback

• Confidence in managing online delivery challenges

• Ability to encourage student participation and interaction

Desirable Criteria

• For teaching applicants: a strong record of research, scholarly activity, or industry experience in multi-agent systems, robotics, cloud computing, cyber forensics, or applied cryptography

• Relevant professional certifications or recognised practitioner credentials, such as AWS Certifications, robotics platform credentials, digital-forensics or incident-response certifications, cyber security certifications, or comparable specialist recognition

• For dissertation advisor applicants: experience supervising postgraduate projects or dissertations across one or more areas of Computer Science

Eligibility and Requirements:

• Applicants must be UK residents (typically residing in the UK for at least 183 days per tax year)

• We cannot accept applications from candidates on a student visa

• You must have:

  • A reliable internet connection

  • A personal laptop/PC (compatible with MS Edge)

  • A smartphone/device for system authentication