PhD Position Cognitive Neuroscience of Curiosity at the Donders Centre for Cognition

Faculty of Social Sciences
At the Faculty of Social Sciences humanity and society are our focus; we study how people behave think and feel. Within this context we look at themes such as human behaviour and the human psyche education and upbringing communication society and culture. The faculty provides education to 6000 students and employs 700 staff. Education is organised into six programme clusters: Psychology; Artificial Intelligence; Pedagogical Sciences and Educational Sciences; Communication Science; Sociology; and Cultural Anthropology and Developmental Sociology and the Radboud Centre Social Sciences as an institute for post-master education have been merged into the Social Sciences Education Institute. Our research is carried out within three research institutes: the Donders Centre for Cognition the Behavioural Science Institute and Radboud Social Cultural Research.

Radboud University
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Are you fascinated by the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying curiosity in 10- to 12-year-old children Would you like to contribute to an ambitious research project combining behavioural studies fMRI and computational modelling If so then we invite you to apply for this PhD position in the Cognitive Neuroscience of Curiosity at the Donders Centre for Cognition.

Curiosity is a powerful driver of learning yet we still know relatively little about the neurocognitive mechanisms that support curiosity in this PhD project you will investigate curiosity in 10- to 12-year-old children from a behavioural neural and computational perspective.

The project combines behavioural experiments fMRI and computational modelling to better understand how children become curious how they decide to seek information and how curiosity supports learning and memory. You will design and conduct experimental studies review the scientific literature recruit and test participants analyse behavioural and neuroimaging data and write scientific articles that will form the basis of your dissertation.

You will work closely with your supervisors another PhD candidate in Educational Sciences and a broader interdisciplinary team at the Donders Centre for Cognition. The position also involves communicating with children parents and schools presenting your work to national and international audiences and contributing to teaching for approximately 10% of your time.

Would you like to learn more about what its like to pursue a PhD at Radboud University Visit the page about working as a PhD candidate.

• You hold or are about to obtain a Research Masters or Masters degree in cognitive neuroscience psychology cognitive science educational science artificial intelligence or a related discipline.
• You have experience with designing and running behavioural experiments preferably with children between 10 and 12 years old.
• You have experience with fMRI research or you are strongly motivated to develop expertise in neuroimaging methods.
• You have experience with computational modelling and/or quantitative data analysis preferably using tools such as Python R MATLAB or similar software.
• You have an affinity for educational research and are interested in translating insights from cognitive neuroscience to learning contexts.
• You are able to communicate clearly and sensitively with children parents teachers and other stakeholders involved in the research.
• You are a collaborative team member who can also work independently take initiative and solve problems creatively.
• You have a good command of Dutch and English. This is a requirement because the project involves testing Dutch-speaking children and communicating research findings internationally.

The Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour is a world-class interfaculty research centre that houses more than 700 researchers devoted to understanding the mechanistic underpinnings of the human mind. Research at the Donders Institute is focused around four themes:

1. Language and communication.
2. Perception action and decision-making.
3. Development and lifelong plasticity.
4. Natural computing & neurotechnology.

Excellent state-of-the-art research facilities are available for the broad range of neuroscience research that is being conducted at the Donders Institute. The Donders Institute has been assessed by an international evaluation committee as excellent and recognised as a very stimulating environment for top researchers as well as for young talent. The Donders Institute fosters a collaborative multidisciplinary supportive research environment with a diverse international staff. English is the lingua franca at the Institute.

• We will give you a temporary employment contract (0.8 FTE) of 1.5 years after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive your contract will be extended by 3.5 years (5-year contract).
• You will receive a starting salary of 3059 gross per month based on a 38-hour working week which will increase to 3881 from the fourth year onwards (salary scale P).
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 83% end-of-year bonus.
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20.

You can apply only via the button below. Address your letter of application to Lieke van the application form you will find which documents you need to include with your application. We look forward to receiving your application.

The first interviews will take place on Wednesday 12 August. Any second interview will take place on Wednesday 19 August. You will preferably start your employment as soon as possible.

We can imagine youre curious about ourapplication procedure. It describes what you can expect during the application procedure and how we handle your personal data and internal and external candidates.

Work and science require good employment practices. Radboud Universitys primary and secondary employment conditions reflect this. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself. For example exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports addition you receive a 34% discount on the sports and cultural activities at Radboud University as an employee. And of course we offer a good pension plan. We also give you plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore we provide various training and development schemes.