Connectionists: A Tenure-track Faculty position in Computational Cognitive Neuroscience is now open at the Faculty of Psychology – University of Coimbra, Portugal – co-funded by the ERA Chair project CogBooster led by Dr. Alfonso Caramazza

[Jorge Almeida]

Dear Colleague,

I am very sorry again for cross-posting and for contacting you in an
unsolicited way!

The call for one Tenured Assistant Professor position on Computational
Cognitive Neuroscience is now open (yesterday we sent in the call the
position on Cognitive Neuroscience. Applicants can and should apply to both
positions ).

If you are interested in applying, please see the end of this post. You can
apply here <https://apply.uc.pt/IT136-25-14935>. The deadline for
application should be April 7, 2025.



The Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of
Coimbra (FPCE-UC <https://www.uc.pt/fpce/>) Portugal invites applications
from rising and aspiring leaders in Computational Cognitive Neuroscience
for 1 Assistant Professor position in Computational Cognitive Neuroscience.
These positions are part of a transformative ERA Chair grant CogBooster
<https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101087584> from the European Union to
FPCE-UC led by Dr. Alfonso Caramazza. The goal of CogBooster is to
implement strong and international lines of research in Cognitive
Science/Neuroscience, so as to contribute to the ongoing renewal of the
Psychological and Brain Sciences in Portugal over the next decade.



The project has recently led to the appointment of Jorge Almeida, Jason
Fischer and Joana Carvalho as tenured Professors, and Alfonso Caramazza as
a Visiting Researcher at the University of Coimbra.



Equal Employment Opportunity statement:



The University of Coimbra is an equal opportunity/affirmative action
employer and has a Gender Equality Plan in place. We are committed to
fostering a diverse and inclusive academic global community at the
University. We particularly encourage applications from women, and from
under-represented groups in the University of Coimbra’s workforce and in
the brain sciences.



Positions:



We seek applicants with expertise in any area of Computational Cognitive
Neuroscience. The position is tenure-track at the rank of Assistant
Professor. The start date should be around September 1, 2025 (but
potentially negotiable).



Qualifications:



Applicants must hold a Ph.D. in a discipline relevant to Computational
Cognitive Neuroscience. Successful applicants should have an excellent
record of research for their career level. To contribute to the mission of
CogBooster and to the research and educational mission of FPCE-UC, they are
expected to establish an active research program in any of the major
cognitive areas, acquire external research funds, and contribute to
teaching and mentoring.



The applicant will actively engage in research, teaching, and supervision
in the field of the specific positions at FPCE-UC and its affiliated
research center. Applicants may use different technical and methodological
approaches to address their cognitive research questions, including, but
not limited to, cognitive neuropsychological investigations, human
neuroimaging techniques (fMRI, EEG, sEEG, etc), behavioral and cognitive
approaches, and computational cognitive neuroscience.



Offer:



The position is tenure-track and includes social security and national
pension plans, medical insurance, and all legally applicable benefits under
Portuguese law.



In addition to the legally required employment conditions described above,
and as part of the ERA Chair initiative CogBooster, these positions come
with a start-up package. This includes (subject to final discussion between
the selected candidates and Dr. Alfonso Caramazza):



· Funding for 1 Post-Doctoral fellow at the Portuguese pay grade for 36
months;



· Funding for 1 Research Assistant/Doctoral student at the Portuguese pay
grade for 36 months;



· Funding for 200 fMRI hours (or EEG hours, use of neurostimulation, etc.);



· Funding for attending and presenting at national and international
conferences



· Funding for open access publications;



· Funding for Laboratory resources (e.g., Computers);



· Laboratory space shared with other laboratories at FPCE-UC;



· Institutional support for applying to major European and international
grants (grant reviewing by experts, interview preparation, etc).





About Portugal, Coimbra, and FPCE-UC:



Portugal’s warm and pleasant climate, rich history and culture, beautiful
landscapes and beaches, affordable cost of living, and quality but
affordable medical and educational systems, makes it one of the most
exciting countries to live in. Moreover, Portuguese culture is incredibly
family-friendly, welcoming to foreigners (English is widely spoken), and
the country is one of the five safest countries in the world. Finally, it
features an incredible and diverse cuisine, great wine, and a pace of life
commensurate with work-life balance.



The University of Coimbra is a 700-year-old University and is a UNESCO
world Heritage site. Coimbra is one of the liveliest university cities in
the world, and it is a beautiful city with easy access to the beach and
mountains. According to Numbeo-Cost of Living, 2300 euro in Coimbra (the
net value approximate monthly salary of an Assistant Professor, 12 months
plus a Summer and Christmas bonus is a total of 14 months) correspond to a
local purchasing power of about 4300 euro in Paris, 4700 GBP in London
(UK), 3050 euro in Rome, 4100 euro in Munich, 3600 euro in Brussels,
approximately 5700 USD in Los Angeles, 6000 USD in Washington, or 6200 USD
in Boston, 6200 CAD in Toronto, 19k CNY in Beijing or Shanghai, 11k reais
in São Paulo, and 7600 AUD euro in Sydney.



The Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences has been consistently
ranked as the, or one of the, best Psychology Departments in Portugal. In
the last decade it has become the leading department in Portugal on
Psychological research, holding, for instance, the only 2 ERC grants in
Psychology in Portugal. FPCE-UC has laboratories for Cognitive Science and
Cognitive Neuroscience research – the Proaction Lab (led by Jorge Almeida);
The Dynamic Perception Lab (led by Jason Fischer), Joana Carvalho's Vision
Science lab, and the Cognitive Neuropsychology group led by Alfonso
Caramazza. We have access to two 3T MRI scanners, to tDCS and TMS with
neuronavigation, to a 256 channel EEG, and to a fully functional behavioral
lab.





Further information:



We still strongly encourage potential applicants to contact Drs. Alfonso
Caramazza (caram at wjh.harvard.edu) and Jorge Almeida (
jorgecbalmeida at gmail.com). Please send us your CV, and a short cover letter
describing your interest in the position (including the general field of
research).



To apply to this position, this is what you need to do:

1.       Go to https://apply.uc.pt/ and register/get an account

2.       Go to https://apply.uc.pt/IT136-25-14935 to start your application

3.       You will need to submit the following documents:

a.       *Curriculum Vitae (dated and signed)* – the CV has to included,
necessarily, a few things:

                                                               i.
Preamble/preface
where you mention your previous contracts with any University/College,
including dates, type of contract, and the area (e.g., Psychology).

                                                             ii.      A
synopsis where you describe clearly why you think you are qualified for the
area in which the positions are open – Computational Cognitive
Neuroscience, with a focus on understanding major cognitive processes.

                                                           iii.      A
section on scientific performance (focus mainly on your work in
Computational Cognitive Neuroscience) that counts for 80 points of your
evaluation, with the following subheaders:

1.       Scientific production and its impact and national and
international recognition (35/80 points) – focusing mainly on papers in the
area of Computational Cognitive Neuroscience, highlighting 5 major papers,
and demonstrating how relevant these outputs were for Computational
Cognitive Neuroscience, and how they contributed to the advancement of the
state of the art. You can add a subsection with prizes and awards here to
show the recognition of your work by your peers.

2.       Future scientific prospects (10/80) – Future perspectives in terms
of scientific impact and output, and career plans.

3.       Coordination and participation in funded research projects and
team leadership (20/80) – focusing on your PI/co-PI roles but also other
roles in projects focusing on Computational Cognitive Neuroscience at a
fundamental/basic level.

4.       Active participation in the community within and outside the
university (15/80) – this includes academic management positions,
scientific management positions (e.g., editorial services), reviewing
activities, assessing proposals and/or institutions (panel member at
science funding schemes), etc.

                                                           iv.      A
section on your pedagogical and teaching performance that counts for 20
points of your evaluation, with the following subheaders:

1.       Teaching activity (10/20) – the courses you taught, including if
possible student evaluations, as well as other aspect that show you are fit
to teach computational cognitive neuroscience courses (awards, prizes, etc.)

2.       Pedagogical materials produced and supervision and guidance
activities (5/20) – this includes the supervision of BA/BSc, MA/MSc, and
PhD students, as well as Post-doctoral fellows. It also includes any
material you might have produced for your courses.

3.       Pedagogical projects and active participation in the community
within and outside the University (5/20) – this includes new courses or
programs created, but also all dissemination activities in the community
(e.g., fairs, activities at schools, museums, etc).

b.       *A Career development plan* (up to 10 pages) – in this document,
you should discuss the main research problems you will focus on (and how
they relate to the state of the art); how you plan to resolve
(experimentally or theoretically) these problems – i.e., your research
lines; and why you would do so. Please note that all this should be aligned
with the area in which the positions are open – Computational Cognitive
Neuroscience, with a focus on understanding major cognitive processes under
a fundamental science approach.

c.       *All your certificates (namely and mainly the PhD diploma)* – It
is important that you include a pdf of your PhD diploma in your application
– without this document you will not be evaluated! Also, if you PhD was
obtained outside of Portugal you will have to start the process of
recognizing it in Portugal (you will need to have it recognize when signing
the contract). You should start your recognition process here:
https://www.dges.gov.pt/recon/formulario (please choose “I want to have my
foreign degree/diploma recognized” and choose the country of origin of the
diploma. In the process always try to choose the University of Coimbra as
the place where you want your diploma to be recognized. If you have any
problems, let me know and I can try to help. Once you start this process
you will get an email – you can attach this email to your application as
proof that you initiated the process.

d.       *A document in which you identify 5 scientific results or
activities that you consider to represent your most significant
contributions to the advancement of knowledge in fundamental Computational
Cognitive Neuroscience* – please present the citations, APA style, and a
relatively brief explanation for each of the 5 documents as to why they are
the most representative and the most impactful in the field of fundamental
Computational Cognitive Neuroscience.

e.       *Separate pdfs of the 5 documents identified above* (in line d).

f.        *Pdfs of all other papers and documents.*


Looking forward to your application and to having you here as a colleague!

Até breve

Jorge Almeida & Alfonso Caramazza
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