The University of Luxembourg is an international research university with a distinctly multilingual and interdisciplinary character. The University was founded in 2003 and counts more than 6,700 students and more than 2,000 employees from around the world. The University’s faculties and interdisciplinary centres focus on research in the areas of Computer Science and ICT Security, Materials Science, European and International Law, Finance and Financial Innovation, Education, Contemporary and Digital History. In addition, the University focuses on cross-disciplinary research in the areas of Data Modelling and Simulation as well as Health and System Biomedicine. Times Higher Education ranks the University of Luxembourg #3 worldwide for its “international outlook,” #20 in the Young University Ranking 2021 and among the top 250 universities worldwide.
The Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE) brings together expertise from the humanities, linguistics, cognitive sciences, social and educational sciences. People from across 20 disciplines are working within the Faculty. Along with the disciplinary approach a very ambitious interdisciplinary research culture has been developed.
The faculty’s research and teaching focuses on social, economic, political and educational issues with the common goal of contributing to an inclusive, open and resourceful society. The FHSE offers six Bachelor and twenty Master degrees and a doctoral school providing students with the necessary knowledge and high-qualified skills to succeed in their future career.
Your Role...
The Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Science and the Institute of Cognitive Science & Assessment at the University of Luxembourg are seeking to appoint within its Faculty of Language and Literature, Humanities, Arts and Educationa position as Post-Doc in the research group Computational Cognitive Science and Modeling, lead by Prof. Heiko Schütt.
The Research Group forms part of the Institute of Cognitive Science and Assessment (COSA) and the Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Science.
As a group, we seek to understand and model human visual processing and cognition. For this purpose, we develop new models of these processes based on mechanistic ideas from psychophysics, normative ideas like efficient coding or probabilistic inference, and/or machine learning techniques like deep neural networks. Furthermore, we work on better statistical methods for evaluating such models based on both frequentist and Bayesian techniques with influences from machine learning. Finally, we run behavioral experiments to use our improved methods to test our models. Concrete topics of interest include image segmentation and its interactions with lateral connections like divisive normalization or facilitation, extending image computable models to include temporal processing, Bayesian alternatives to representational similarity analysis, and human perceptual inference and decision making. Within the research interests of the group, the PostDoc will enjoy relative freedom to develop their individual research profile.
Responsibilities will include:
- Developing, leading and conducting original, interdisciplinary research within the areas of interest of the research group
- Development of an individual research profile
- Development and implementation of new models of human visual processing and/or methods for testing such models
- Presenting research findings in publications (in journals and at conferences)
- Supervision of Bachelor and Master theses
- Supporting the preparation of grant proposals as well as preparing own proposals
- Participating in joint research group activities (e.g., colloquia, creativity sessions, teaching)
- Collaboration with other group members and external collaborators
What we expect from you…
- Excellent PhD in Psychology, Cognitive Science, Data Science, or a related field
- Record of peer reviewed publications
- Excellent English in speech and writing; proficiency in French or German is a plus
- Programming skills in Python, R, C, and/or Julia
- Research experience in as many as possible of the following topics:
- computational modeling, statistics, data science or machine learning
- human visual processing and/or computer vision
- cognitive science, psychophysics, and/or psychological research
- Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
- Last but not least, enthusiasm for, commitment for, and enjoyment of research as well as the intention to pursue a career in academia
In Short...
- Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract 36 Month
- Work Hours: Full Time 40.0 Hours per Week
- Location: Belval
- Internal Title: Postdoctoral researcher
- Job Reference: UOL05750
- Ideal start date: 1st September 2023
The yearly gross salary for every Postdoctoral Researcher at the UL is EUR 81072 (full time)
How to apply...
Applications should be submitted online and include:
- Cover letter (including contact information)
- Curriculum Vitae (including education, work experience & publications)
- A brief research statement detailing your research interests and how this might fit into the research group (max. 2 pages)
- Academic transcripts
- Contact information for at least two referees
Early application is highly encouraged, as the applications will be processed upon reception. To ensure full consideration, candidates should apply by 15th June 2023. Please apply formally through the HR system. Applications by email will not be considered.
The University of Luxembourg embraces inclusion and diversity as key values. We are fully committed to removing any discriminatory barrier related to gender, and not only, in recruitment and career progression of our staff.
Here’s what awaits you at the University
- Multilingual and international character. Modern institution with a personal atmosphere. Staff coming from 90 countries. Member of the “University of the Greater Region” (UniGR).
- A modern and dynamic university. High-quality equipment. Close ties to the business world and to the Luxembourg labour market. A unique urban site with excellent infrastructure.
- A partner for society and industry. Cooperation with European institutions, innovative companies, the Financial Centre and with numerous non-academic partners such as ministries, local governments, associations, NGOs …
