Dutch Research Consortium ‘Language in Interaction’
Maximum salary: € 4,691 gross/month
Vacancy number: 30.01.17
Application deadline: 17 April 2017
Responsibilities
The Language in Interaction research consortium invites applications for a senior postdoctoral position. You will contribute to the integration of empirical research in our consortium. You will act in close collaboration with Peter Hagoort, programme director of the consortium. This position provides the opportunity for conducting world-class research as a member of an interdisciplinary team. Moreover, it will provide the opportunity to contribute to developing a theoretical framework for our understanding of the human language faculty.
Work environment
The Netherlands has an outstanding track record in the language sciences. The Language in Interaction research consortium, which is sponsored by a large grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific research (NWO), brings together many of the excellent research groups in the Netherlands in a research programme on the foundations of language. In addition to excellence in the domain of language and related relevant fields of cognition, our consortium provides state-of-the-art research facilities and a research team with ample experience in the complex research methods that will be invoked to address the scientific questions at the highest level of methodological sophistication. These include methods from genetics, neuroimaging, computational modelling, and patient-related research. This consortium realises both quality and critical mass for studying human language at a scale not easily found anywhere else.
We have identified five Big Questions (BQ) that are central to our understanding of the human language faculty. These questions are interrelated at multiple levels. Teams of researchers will collaborate to collectively address these key questions of our field.
Our five Big Questions are:
BQ1: The nature of the mental lexicon: How to bridge neurobiology and psycholinguistic theory by computational modelling?
BQ2: What are the characteristics and consequences of internal brain organization for language?
BQ3: Creating a shared cognitive space: How is language grounded in and shaped by communicative settings of interacting people?
BQ4: Variability in language processing and in language learning: Why does the ability to learn language change with age? How can we characterise and map individual language skills in relation to the population distribution?
BQ5: How are other cognitive systems shaped by the presence of a language system in humans?
You will be appointed at the Donders Institute, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (Radboud University, Nijmegen). The research is conducted in an international setting at all participating institutions. English is the lingua franca.
What we expect from you
We are looking for a highly motivated, creative and talented candidate to enrich a unique consortium of researchers that aims to unravel the neurocognitive mechanisms of language at multiple levels. The goal is to understand both the universality and the variability of the human language faculty from genes to behaviour.
The selection criteria include:
• a PhD in an area related to the neurobiology of language and/or language sciences;
• expertise/interest in theoretical neuroscience and language;
• an integrative mindset;
• a theory-driven approach;
• good communication skills;
• excellent proficiency in written and spoken English.
What we have to offer
• employment: 1.0 FTE;
• a maximum gross monthly salary of € 4,691 based on a 38-hour working week (salary scale 11);
• in addition to the salary: an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus;
• you will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 30 months;
• the Collective Labour Agreement (CAO) of Dutch Universities is applicable;
• you will be classified as Researcher, level 3 in the Dutch university job-ranking system (UFO);
• the Dutch universities and institutes involved have a number of regulations that enable employees to create a good work-life balance.
Are you interested in our excellent employment conditions?
Other Information
The institute involved is an equal opportunity employer, committed to building a culturally diverse intellectual community, and as such encourages applications from women and minorities.
Would you like to know more?
Further information on: Language in Interaction
Further information on: Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour
For more information about this vacancy, please contact:
Prof. dr. Peter Hagoort, programme director Language in Interaction and director of DCCN
Telephone: +31 24 3610648, +31 24 3521301
E-mail: p.hagoort@donders.ru.nl
Are you interested?
You should upload your application (attn. of Prof. dr. P. Hagoort) exclusively using the button ‘Apply’ below. Your application should include (and be limited to) the following attachment(s):
• a cover letter
• your curriculum vitae, including a list of publications and the names of at least two people who can provide references
Please apply before 17 April 2017, 23:59 CET.