Background

This vacancy falls within the new interdisciplinary EUR-broad SSH-program “The influence of digitalization on work, prosperity and entrepreneurship”. For this program, 3 new Assistant Professors are recruited at the Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, to connect with the theme “Digital decision support”.

Position

As an Assistant Professor you will be working in our Methods & Skills team. You will contribute to research (40%) and teaching (60%). The teaching part will mainly consist of statistical courses (M&S) and theses supervision, with room to contribute to education development with respect to integrating AI-applications. Your research will focus on how digitalization affects and can aid fair and valid decision making.

We are looking for an experienced researcher with a background in methodology and/or (applied) statistics who wants to set up a strong research program on the application of AI, Big data and Machine Learning approaches to the fields of psychology, pedagogical sciences and/or behavioural sciences.

This interdisciplinary position is created to study the validity, reliability, and analytical possibilities of these approaches in light of their potential for scientific research, education and societal applications. Collaboration with researchers from other disciplines, such as educational psychology, clinical psychology and work-related health psychology is highly valued.

The core tasks include:

• Publishing in internationally recognized, peer-reviewed academic journals in the area of methodology and/or (applied) statistics, psychology, pedagogical sciences and/or behavioural sciences using Big Data, AI and Machine Learning approaches,
• Acquiring (joined) research funding
• Disseminating scientific knowledge
• Teaching electives and statistics courses (Bachelor and Master Psychology and Pedagogical Sciences), give workshops on AI, Big Data, ML and webscraping for staff and for the Graduate school (EGSH) 
• Supervising theses in the field of Psychology and Pedagogical Sciences
• Collaborating with other groups (e.g. the Erasmus Initiative ‘Societal Impact of AI', the Movez lab and the SYNC lab) and in the new interdisciplinary EUR initiative on the influence of digitalization on work, prosperity and entrepreneurship
• Add to societal impact in support of human decision making, behavioral change and improvement of health based on data, including reducing the digital divide
• Taking a leading role in developing expertise in the field of AI, Big Data, ML and webscraping within DPECS

We are looking for an enthusiastic colleague (m/f/x) who:

• has a PhD in Statistics, Psychological methods, Psychology or in a related discipline
• has excellent (C1 level) written and oral skills in Dutch and English, both languages are necessary for teaching;
• has good communication skills and is a team player;
• has prior teaching experience and the proven ability to inspire students, with a demonstratable affinity with teaching statistics;
• has a Basic Qualification Teaching (BKO) or is willing to achieve this qualification;
• has high quality scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals;
• has experience in carrying out scientific research independently as well as in a team and has the ability to, and preferably experience with, acquiring research funding;
• is a frontrunner in Open Science, and has the willingness or proven ability to act at the forefront of scientific improvement.

An internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with good working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU). The start date of this position is 01/09/2022 or earlier, and you will be based at ESSB in Woudestein Campus, Rotterdam. The successful candidate will be offered a 0.8-1.0 FTE, one year contract with Erasmus University Rotterdam. This contract can, in case of positive assessment and unchanged organizational circumstances, be turned into a fixed employment contract. In accordance with the conditions applied at Erasmus University Rotterdam as indicated in the Collective Labour Agreement (CAO NU) of the Dutch universities, the salary is dependent on the candidate’s experience and is set at a maximum of CAO NU scale 11 or scale 12 with a minimum of €3.974,- and a maximum of € 6.181,- gross per month, on a fulltime basis. In addition, EUR pays an 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year payment of 8.3% and offers excellent secondary benefits, and a very generous leave scheme. Furthermore, EUR is affiliated with ABP for the pension provision and we offer partially paid parental leave, fully paid extended birth leave for partners, a personal education budget, work-life balance coaches and more. Employees can also use EUR facilities, such as the Erasmus sports center and the University library.

Erasmus University Rotterdam offers a Dual Career Programme (DCP) to assist the life partners of new academic staff (on pay-roll) in finding employment in The Netherlands. The programme is offered in close cooperation with nearby universities of Delft and Leiden.

Erasmus University Rotterdam aspires to be an equitable and inclusive community. We nurture an open culture, where everyone is supported to fulfill their full potential. We see inclusivity of talent as the basis of our successes, and the diversity of perspectives and people as a highly valued outcome. EUR provides equal opportunities to all employees and applicants regardless of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, age, neurodiversity, functional impairment, citizenship, or any other aspect which makes them unique. We look forward to welcoming you to our community.

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR)

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 3.700 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.  

Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB)

The Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences is home to a vast diversity of scientific disciplines: public administration, pedagogical sciences, psychology and sociology (www.eur.nl/essb). Our activities are always focused on people and society. At the ESSB fundamental, internationally oriented research is of paramount importance. In addition, social research for professionals, policy makers, and the society is part of our research activities. ESSB offers a stimulating research environment where major national and international research grants are received. Appealing guest researchers and ambitious PhD candidates come along to conduct their research. Both the Dutch and English education programs are highly ranked by students and alumni. ESSB is home to over 4000 students and more than 400 staff-members. More information about the research at ESSB can be found here: https://www.eur.nl/en/essb/information/researchers/research-themes More information about the education at ESSB can be found here: https://www.eur.nl/en/essb/education/find-your-study

Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies (DPECS)

DPECS covers the disciplines of Psychology, Educational Sciences and Pedagogical Sciences. More information about the research at DPECS can be found here: https://www.eur.nl/en/essb/research-0/lab-society The department has access to an excellent laboratory with state-of-the art facilities, including Virtual Reality, ESM, EEG, psychophysiology, and eyetracking: https://www.eur.nl/en/essb/research-0/erasmus-behavioural-lab

Team Methods & Skills

The team M&S consists of highly motivated PhD candidates, tutors, tutor coordinators and assistant, associate, and full Professors. Together they enthusiastically coordinate and teach the psychological, pedagogical, and statistics courses in the Bachelor and Master programmes of DPECS. The M&S team is involved in research and teaching in the field of applied statistics and in the development of professional skills.

You can find specific information about the research and statistics group on:

https://www.eur.nl/en/essb/information/researchers/applied-research-methods-and-statistics