* Job title: Junior Research Group Leader (100%, E 14 TV-L) or Postdoctoral Research Fellow (100%, E 13 TV-L) on Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience

* Location: Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology

* (Initial) Deadline: September 30, 2021

* Job description
We are seeking postdoctoral researchers on cognitive and affective neuroscience (broadly defined, but we exclude non-human research). The successful candidates will primarily work with Professor Kou Murayama and Professor Michiko Sakaki. Our labs are interested in motivational and affective effects on learning, metacognition, and reward processing (especially intrinsic rewards), sometimes with ageing/developmental perspective. We use MRI, psychophysiology and behavioural experiments to investigate these processes. We are also interested in studies with real-life materials such as naturalistic stimuli and educational
materials to deepen insights into human behaviour in real-life settings. Applicants can come from any field of neuroscience/psychology or related fields, but we are particularly looking for candidates (1) who have strong experimental programming skills (including online experiments) and/or advanced neuroimaging skills (e.g., predictive modelling, MVPA, network analysis) and (2) who are interested in running studies that have educational implications.

The positions come with a fixed-term contract for 3 years with the possibility for extension for additional 2 years. The expected start date is February 2022 but we are highly flexible and committed to accommodating candidates’ individual circumstances. There is the possibility to participate in the institute's own postdoctoral academy PACE (Tübingen Postdoctoral Academy for Research on Education) which offers further training, coaching, and mentoring at postdoctoral level. You will also be given the opportunity to join the LEAD Graduate School & Research Network LEAD Graduate School & Research Network to develop cross-faculty collaborative network of researchers working on research on education.

The position is part of the new Alexander von Humboldt Professorship held by Professor Kou Murayama. A Humboldt Professorship is the most highly endowed research prize in Germany and enables world class scientists to carry out long-term and ground-breaking research at universities and research institutions in Germany. Our labs are a part of the Hector Research Institute, which is a nationally and internationally leading research center in education sciences and psychology. Our interdisciplinary team works in a well-equipped building close to the historic old town of Tübingen, Germany. Traditionally, research at the Hector Research Institute investigates determinants of successful teaching and learning processes using large scale assessments, longitudinal studies, and randomized controlled field trials. Our team will complement this interdisciplinary team of researchers. We also actively collaborate with researchers from other departments of the University, such as Psychology, Psychiatry, Computational Sciences, and Computer Linguistics, as well as other research institutions in Tübingen (Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft). We have free access to fMRI facilities in the university. The successful candidates will also have the opportunity to gain experiences in other multiple research methods (e.g., eye tracking, psychophysiology etc.)

The successful candidates will have an opportunity/the freedom to develop their own research programme together with supervisors (there is no “prescribed” project), with the aim to substantially advance the way we study motivation and emotion. Candidates are also expected to actively collaborate with other researchers within and beyond the institute.

The successful candidates hold an excellent PhD in either Psychology/Neuroscience or a related field (or will have obtained one by the start date of the position) and have visible track record (e.g., publication and third-party funding experience). A visible commitment to research transparency is a bonus. Most importantly, the successful candidates should demonstrate (1) a solid methodological skill set (experimental programming and/or advanced neuroimaging) that allows them to conduct research with independence and (2) a strong motivation and open-mindedness with respect to building interdisciplinary links with education sciences. While beneficial, proficiency in German is not necessary for this position.

For further inquiries about the position, please reach out to Professor Kou Murayama (k.murayama@uni-tuebingen.de) to apply for these positions.

Disabled candidates will be given preference over other equally qualified applicants. The University seeks to raise the number of women in research and teaching and therefore urges qualified women to applynfor these positions.

Applications including a cover letter detailing (1) your expertise and methodological skills and (2) type of research you envision to work on in our labs, especially considering the fact that we are situated in an institute on educational science, a CV, contact of two references who can be contacted before interview, degree and other certificates with transcripts should be sent via email in one single pdf-file (mentioning the keyword "neuroscience") to verwaltung@hib.uni-tuebingen.de. Initial deadline is September 30, 2021 but we continue to seek candidates until the position is filled by highly qualified candidates (i.e. late application is acceptable until we make a final decision).

* Link to the job advertisement