Postdoc in Developmental and Comparative Psychology (all genders welcome)

At the University of Göttingen -Public Law Foundation-, Graduiertenkolleg 2906 Neugier, there is a position as

Postdoc in Developmental and Comparative Psychology (all genders welcome)
Entgeltgruppe 13 TV-L/100%

to be filled. Starting date is 8/1/2024. The position is limited to 7/31/2027.

As part of a new research network that has been established at the Georg-August-University of Göttingen - Research Training Group (RTG) 2906 Curiosity - we advertise here a Postdoctoral position for an initial three years, with the possibility of extension for a further two years (extension contingent on a performance evaluation). The project is expected to commence on August 1st, 2024.
Scientists in RTG 2906 will investigate the neuropsychological, biological and computational underpinnings of curiosity. The research network comprises a highly interdisciplinary consortium of psychologists, biologists as well as systems and computational neuroscientists who will work together to answer three broad research questions: (A) When are we curious? (B) Why are we curious? and (C) How are we curious? The postdoctoral researcher will, together with the PIs, develop a series of interdisciplinary research projects that bring together developmental and comparative perspectives on these questions. Specifically, the researcher will develop projects that test different species and human children across development in similar paradigms, and potentially across different sites both within and beyond the RTG. A key focus of such projects will be to examine the generalizability of curiosity-driven behaviour across species and development. 

Your profile:

• A very good PhD (or equivalent)
• Background in Developmental and/or Comparative Psychology, with preference for candidates working at the intersection of these fields
• Interest in developing and leading collaborative projects with doctoral researchers and PIs
• Experience teaching and supervising undergraduate students
• Interest and/or experience in acquiring independent funding to promote research program
• An excellent command of the English language
• Excellent critical thinking and communication skills

• A highly interdisciplinary and collaborative, team-oriented research environment
• Access to laboratory and field infrastructure 
• Independent funding for research (10.000€/year)
• Flexibility to shape your own research program within the confines of the research objectives of the network
• Supervision and mentoring from interdisciplinary PI network on project management, funding acquisition, networking and publications
• Opportunities to gain teaching experience
• Support in efforts to acquire independent grant funding (e.g., Emmy Noether, ERC Starting Grant) 

RTG 2906 is based in Göttingen, a university town with 28,000 students across all disciplines. The Göttingen Campus has its overarching research foci in living networks, sustainability, and dynamics of change, and includes four Max-Planck Institutes, the German Primate Center, the Campus Institute for Data Science, and the Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks.

How to apply:

Detailed information on the application process and the research project are available at RTG webpage (https://www.uni-goettingen.de/rtg2906 ). As part of the online application process, you will be asked to upload a motivation letter, CV, list of publications and certified copies of your degree and language certificates.
• For questions about the position, please contact the RTG Speaker Prof. Nivedita Mani ([email protected] )
• If you have any questions about the application process, you can write to [email protected]

The University of Göttingen is an equal opportunities employer and places particular emphasis on fostering career opportunities for women. Qualified women are therefore strongly encouraged to apply in fields in which they are underrepresented. The university has committed itself to being a family-friendly institution and supports their employees in balancing work and family life. The University is particularly committed to the professional participation of severely disabled employees and therefore welcomes applications from severely disabled people. In the case of equal qualifications, applications from people with severe disabilities will be given preference. A disability or equality is to be included in the application in order to protect the interests of the applicant.

Please upload your application in one pdf file including the usual documents until 1/15/2024 on the application portal of the university using this link: http://obp.uni-goettingen.de/de-de/OBF/Index/74263 . For more information get in touch with Nivedita Mani directly via E-Mail: [email protected], Tel. +49-551-39-23617 .

Please note:
With submission of your application, you accept the processing of your applicant data in terms of data-protection law. Further information on the legal basis and data usage is provided in the Information General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)