25 Ph.D./Postdoctoral Positions in Collective Behaviour, University/Max Planck
Institute, Konstanz, Germany
The University of Konstanz, Germany, is recruiting up to 25 PhD and Post-doc positions
https://www.uni-konstanz.de/collective-behaviour/open-positions/ in
collective behaviour as part of the new Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour
https://www.uni-konstanz.de/collective-behaviour/.
One of Germany’s top-level Clusters of Excellence, it is backed by >
30 million euro in funding over 7 years (with the possibility of a
second seven-year funding period), which will commence in January 2019.
The “Centre for the Advanced
Study of Collective Behaviour” will create a global hotspot for the
integrated study of collective behaviour across a wide range of species
and scales of organisation. With English as the
working language, it will be a global hub for scientists seeking to
create a synergistic, interdisciplinary environment for the study of
collective behavior. Based at the University of Konstanz, it partners
with the co-located Max Planck Institute for Ornithology
(Directors Iain Couzin and Martin Wikelski), as well as national and
international institutes including the Yale Institute for Network
Sciences (Director Nicholas Christakis) and Charles Perkins Institute,
Sydney (Director Steve Simpson).
With the goal of establishing
collective behaviour as an integrative field, the Centre will bring
together international researchers from biology, computer science,
social psychology, physics, and behavioural economics
to work closely on addressing common questions across species
boundaries. Overall programmatic themes include: social learning and
culture; collective sensing and movement; social influence and
transmission; spread of physiological states; collective intelligence
and decision-making; social networks; virtual reality; computer
modelling; machine learning; computer vision; visualisation and
analytics. Research will be characterized by extensive collection and
sophisticated analysis of empirical data as well as development
of new technologies. The initiative leverages a new 3,000 sq. ft
“Centre for Visual Computing of Collectives” (https://www.uni-konstanz.de/collective-behaviour/facilities/)
housing unique imaging and tracking technology that will enable controlled experiments in virtual environments.
The Centre is seeking
motivated PhD and post-doctoral researchers interested in
interdisciplinary behavioural research that crosses boundaries of scale
and species. Recruits will be part of an outstanding environment
for junior researchers at the University of Konstanz. PhD students will
be supported by highly-ranked graduate programs (Graduate School of
Decision Sciences and the International Max Planck Research School for
Organismal Biology) and post-docs will benefit
from multiple funding possibilities, a nationally-recognized Institute
for Advanced Study for Junior Researchers (Zukunftskolleg) and an
award-winning professional development program.
The Centre for the
Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour will be located at the University
of Konstanz, an elite University of Excellence and ranked #1 young
university in Germany. Konstanz is an historic
city in southern Germany on the shores of Lake Constance, and at the
gateway to the Alps.The Konstanz research portfolio includes “Collective
Behaviour and Ecology" as one of five research foci. The University is
committed to Open Science and all members of
our Centre must be committed to ethical, transparent and open science.
Konstanz has an active and successful dual-career partner placement
program and a strong commitment to work-life balance and family-friendly
programs for faculty and staff. The campus hosts
an exceptional childcare facility (https://www.uni-konstanz.de/en/equalopportunities/family/childcare/kinderhaus-knirps-co-child-care-centre/)
with support for childcare during emergencies, conferences, or travel.