mercredi 28 novembre 2018

25 Ph.D./Postdoc Positions in Collective Behaviour, University/Max Planck Institute, Konstanz, Germany

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.