Postdoctoral Research Fellows in Education Sciences and Psychology University of Tubingen Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences

4 Postdoctoral Research Fellows (m/f/d; 100%, E 13 TV-L )

Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology

Application deadline : 11.12.2020

The Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology is currently inviting applications for the following position:

 4 Postdoctoral Research Fellows for 3 years (+ possible 2 year extension) (m/f/d; 100%, E 13 TV-L)

We are seeking excellent and enthusiastic researchers who have strong passion to reshape the landscape of research on motivation science, especially in the context of education research. To achieve the goal, we are aiming to establish an unique and unprecedented interdisciplinary team of talented researchers from a broad range of perspectives and skills. As such, applicants can come from any of the following fields (or related fields): cognitive science, social/personality psychology, educational psychology, psychometrics/data science, neuroimaging (broadly defined), and ageing (life-long learning). We especially give priority to researchers having expertise on big data analysis, fMRI analysis, and/or online experimental programming. 

The position comes with a fixed-term contract for 3 years with the possibility for extension for additional 2 years. The expected start date is April 2021 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. 

The position is part of the new Alexander von Humboldt Professorship held by Professor Kou Murayama, who has moved to the University of Tübingen to continue his internationally renowned research at the Hector Research Institute. 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 (https://www.humboldt-professur.de/en). The Hector Research Institute 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 collaborate within the institute continuing these traditions and also supplement them with a diverse array of methodological approaches. More information can be found at www.hib.uni-tuebingen.de.

The successful candidate is expected to combine research on motivation with education sciences based on his/her expertise, conducting ground-breaking research that could substantially change the way we study motivation and education. This could take a variety of forms --- e.g., developing and implementing machine-learning algorithms to predict students' academic outcomes using large datasets (behavioral and/or neuroscientific datasets); conducting behavioural/neurological experiments with naturalistic stimuli to understand dynamic motivational process in real life settings, etc. The successful candidate is expected to design and implement studies together with the PI and researchers at the Hector Research Institute, collect and analyze data, and write manuscripts. Teaching is not required but we strongly encourage postdocs to take some (e.g. one course per semester) as part of our training program for postdocs.

The successful candidate holds an excellent PhD in either Psychology or a related field (or will have obtained one by the start date of the position) and has visible track record (e.g., publication and third-party funding experience) in the fields specified above. Research experiences in motivation research (broadly defined) are good bonus. A visible commitment to research transparency is also a plus. Most importantly, the successful candidate should demonstrate (1) solid methodological skill set (experimental programming, statistical analysis) that allow them to conduct research with independence and (2) substantive experience with interdisciplinary research project(s) as well as a strong  motivation and open-mindedness with respect to building interdisciplinary links with education sciences. You will also be given the opportunity to join the LEAD Graduate School & Research Network (www.lead.uni-tuebingen.de) to develop cross-faculty collaborative network of researchers working on research on education. While beneficial, proficiency in German is not necessary for these positions. 

For further inquiries about the position, please reach out to Professor Kou Murayama (k.murayamaspam prevention@reading.ac.uk).

Applications including a cover letter detailing (1) your expertise and methodological skills, and (2) how your experience and skills can make an unique contribution to the research on motivation science and education, a CV, degree and other certificates with transcripts should be sent via email in one single pdf-file to verwaltungspam prevention@hib.uni-tuebingen.de. Initial deadline December 11 but we continue to seek candidates until all of the positions are filled by highly qualified candidates. 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 apply for these positions. Employment will be officially organized by the central university administration.