Research Assistant, Mobile Security and Privacy for Older Adults - PSAC-RC

Competition Number: RC157.26

Date Posted: November 3, 2026

Department: Applied Computer Science

Researcher: Dr. Mary Adedayo

Position Vacancies: 1

Salary: $17.22 - $20.10 per hour plus 6% vacation pay Research Assistants are normally students, in a University of Winnipeg undergraduate program, employed to assist with tasks related to research. Work is performed within defined guidelines and under supervision of a more senior researcher or faculty member.

Position Overview:

The student will work as an assistant on a research project aimed at addressing privacy and security concerns related to the use of mobile devices and applications and online resources among older adults. The assistant will be involved in various aspects of the research, including the development of resource materials for educating older adults, reviewing literature, analyzing digital artifacts in mobile phones, and disseminating results.

The overall research project involves several objectives: 1) to evaluate the usability of mobile security and privacy technologies among older adults; 2) to create simple guidelines and sustainable educational resources to improve mobile security and privacy awareness among older adults; 3) to develop and test prototypes of security mechanisms that address some of the challenges that we have identified in our earlier study; 4) to create an browser extension for understanding cookies and an associate web-based resource for public use.

The assistant will provide support in achieving the objectives of the project and assist in the production of research materials and outputs.

Duties:

- The selected candidate will be required to provide support in extending ethics approval and conducting usability tests with research participants. They will be required to create online forms for data collection.



The candidate will perform qualitative and quantitative analyses of the collected data to determine usage patterns among research participants.
- The assistant will be required to support the creation of educational resources, such as videos, pamphlets and a website to enhance security and privacy awareness among older adults. Based on our analysis, the assistant will be required to undertake research that involves working with mobile devices, and multiple web browsers.
- They will be required to read technical documentation of applications and literature to answer research questions that emanate from the usability study. The assistant will also be required to work on a presentation document to disseminate the research output. The candidate will also be required to contribute to the preparation of a manuscript for a conference.

Qualifications:

- The assistant must have a good understanding of computer security, human-computer interaction, and usability testing, preferably gained through courses completed at the University of Winnipeg, online, or at another institution. M
- Must have completed the TCPS 2: Core-2022 Course on Research Ethics.
- Must have solid technical skills as well as oral and written communication skills.
- Strong organizational skills, with the ability to manage time effectively and meet set goals.
- Capable of working with the public and be able to work independently.
- Previous experience in preparing and giving presentations or preparing manuscripts would be an asset.




- Experience creating and working with APIs and automated is required.
- Experience creating script for automated extraction from website and creating browser extensions is required.

Condition(s) of Employment:

- Must be legally entitled to work in Canada.

The period of work will be from Nov 10, 2026 - Mar 31, 2027 and the estimated total hours of work will be 80-200 hours.

Note: This position is represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada - Research Capacity Unit.

Note: The work described in this posting will be conducted in person.

The University of Winnipeg is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and recognizes that a diverse staff and faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research environments, and is essential to academic and institutional excellence. We welcome applications from all qualified individuals and encourage women, racialized persons, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQ+ persons to confidentially self-identify at time of application.

The University of Winnipeg is committed to ensuring employment opportunities are accessible for all applicants. If you require accommodation supports during the recruitment process, please contact [email protected].

The personal information of applicants is collected under the authority of the University of Winnipeg Act and 36(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. All personal information collected via the recruitment process is used to assess the applicant’s suitability, eligibility, and qualifications for employment, and to otherwise support recruitment activities. This information will be provided to participating members of the recruitment process.

Questions regarding the collection of your personal information may be directed to the Director, HR Services, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9 or [email protected].

📌 Research Assistant, Mobile Security and Privacy for Older Adults (Winnipeg)
🏢 The University of Winnipeg
📍 Winnipeg