PhD Candidate: Cross-modal Art Perception at the Donders Centre for Cognition

Employment

1.0 FTE

Gross monthly salary

€ 2,541 - € 3,247

Required background

Research University Degree

Organizational unit

Faculty of Social Sciences

Application deadline

24 May 2023

Apply now

We are looking for a motivated PhD candidate with an interest in multisensory perception, art and artificial intelligence.
When looking at a painting we often have an immediate impression, which determines whether we like it or not. This aesthetic appreciation likely involves the visual characteristics of the painting as well as the personal characteristics of the observer. Past research on aesthetic appreciation has largely taken a unimodal approach (e.g. concerning only visual aspects). However, modern society has an abundance of multisensory input in art, as well as in games, movies, and virtual-reality applications. Our aesthetic appreciation of these applications is therefore likely to depend on different types of, not yet fully understood, cross-modal influences. At the same time, it is expected that the impact of such multisensory input will only increase in the near future. The current project aims at a better understanding of multimodal processing involved in aesthetic appreciation. The collected data serve as input for the development of a 'synesthesiser', a neural network that can connect images and sound.
As a PhD candidate you will perform multimodal experiments to investigate the role of factors such as complexity, emotion and cross-modal congruency on aesthetic appreciation. Data will be gathered by experiments in the lab (behavioural, eye tracking) and online, but occasionally also at art academies, museums or public events. You will perform data analyses that comprise computational techniques to optimally account for individual differences. The project also includes building and analysing deep learning models to associate visual images and auditory patterns based on the above-mentioned factors, such as complexity and emotional valence. Your work will involve close collaboration with fellow members of the team. You will write papers for scientific journals, visit conferences and complete a PhD thesis. Project management, mentoring BSc and MSc students, and teaching-related tasks will also be part of your responsibilities.

Profile

• You have an MSc degree in Artificial Intelligence and/or Cognitive Neuroscience, or a relevant discipline such as Experimental Psychology or Cognitive Science.
• You have experience and an interest in computer vision.
• You have experience with collecting behavioural data and/or eye tracking data, or a strong desire to learn.
• You have experience with machine learning, or a strong desire to learn.
• You have a good command of programming languages, preferably including Python.
• You have a high proficiency in spoken and written English.
• You have a passion for art and aesthetics.
• You are a team player with good social, communication and organisational skills.

We are

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 control , 3. Plasticity and memory , 4. Neural computation and 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. You will be a member of the following labs at the Donders Centre for Cognition: Perception and Awareness (Prof. R. van Lier), Neural Coding (Dr U. Güçlü) and Neural Engineering (Dr Y. Güçlütürk).
You will attend the Donders Graduate School for Cognitive Neuroscience .

Radboud University
We want to get the best out of science, others and ourselves. Why? Because this is what the world around us desperately needs. Leading research and education make an indispensable contribution to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. This is what unites the more than 24,000 students and 5,600 employees at Radboud University. And this requires even more talent, collaboration and lifelong learning. You have a part to play!
We offer

• Employment for 1.0 FTE.
• The gross starting salary amounts to €2,541 per month based on a 38-hour working week, and will increase to €3,247 in the fourth year (salary scale P ).
• You will receive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will be employed 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 2.5 years (4 year contract).
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services . Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment and help your family settle in Nijmegen.
• Working for us means getting extra days off. In case of full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the legally allotted 20.

Additional employment conditions
Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions . 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 subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

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Would you like more information?
For questions about the position, please contact Rob van Lier, P.I. Perception & Awareness at +31 24 361 56 98 or [email protected] . Alternatively, you can contact Umut Güclü, P.I. Neural Coding at +31 24 361 11 58 or [email protected] .
Practical information and applying
You can apply until 24 May 2023, exclusively using the button below. Kindly address your application to Rob van Lier. Please fill in the application form and attach the following documents:

• A letter of motivation.
• Your CV.

The first round of interview will likely take place on Thursday 1 June 2023. The second round of interviews will take place on Thursday 8 June 2023. You would preferably begin employment on 1 September 2023. These dates may be subjective to change.
We can imagine you're curious about our application procedure . It offers a rough outline of what you can expect during the application process, how we handle your personal data and how we deal with internal and external candidates.
Apply now Application deadline 24 May 2023

We would like to recruit our new colleague ourselves. Acquisition in response to this vacancy will not be appreciated.

Prof. Lier, R.J. van (Rob)
P.I. Perception & Awareness
[email protected] +31 24 361 56 98
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Last modified: 26 April 2023
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