The ERC project Emergence of Language in Social Interaction (ELISA) awarded to Dr. Connie de Vos is focused on identifying the role of social and cultural factors in sign language emergence. Specifically, the project compares emergent signing varieties in Bali, Indonesia. We are looking for a PhD student to conduct silent gesture experiments in Bali (Indonesia). The position is fully funded for 4-years.

• You have a (research) MA degree in cultural evolution studies, linguistics, communication science, cognitive science, or a related field.
• You can function well in a team, and are able to work independently
• You have a proven interest in sign language emergence research
• Previous experience with silent gesture and iterated learning experiments is a plus

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

• Fixed-term contract: 4 year.
• A full-time position. Ideal start date is September 2020.
• The selected candidate will start with a contract at Tilburg University at the Department of Communication and Cognition for one year, concluded by an evaluation. Upon a positive outcome of the first-year evaluation, the candidate will be offered an employment contract for an additional 3 years.
• The PhD candidate will be ranked in the Dutch university job ranking system (UFO) as a PhD-student (promovendus) with a starting fulltime salary of € 2,325 gross per month in the first year, increasing up to € 2,972 the fourth year.
• A holiday allowance of 8% and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3% (annually);
• Researchers from outside the Netherlands may qualify for a temporary tax-free allowance equal to 30% of their taxable salary. The University will apply for such an allowance on their behalf;
• The University will provide assistance in finding suitable accommodation (for foreign employees);
• Tilburg University is rated among the top Dutch employers and offers very good fringe benefits (it is one of the best non-profit employers in the Netherlands), also including excellent technical infrastructure, savings schemes and excellent sport facilities. The collective labor agreement of the Dutch Universities applies.

Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences

Onderzoek en onderwijs aan de Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences (TSHD) heeft een unieke focus op de mens in de context van de globaliserende digitale samenleving, op de ontwikkeling van kunstmatige intelligentie en interactieve technologieën, op de impact ervan op communicatie, cultuur en maatschappij, en op morele en existentiële uitdagingen die zich voordoen. De School of Humanities and Digital Sciences bestaat uit vier departementen: Communicatie en Cognitie, Cognitieve en Kunstmatige Intelligentie, Cultuurstudies en Filosofie; verschillende onderzoeksinstituten en een faculteitsbureau. Ook het University College Tilburg is onderdeel van de School. Jaarlijks starten ongeveer 275 studenten met een Bachelor- of (Pre)Masteropleiding. De School telt ongeveer 2000 studenten en 250 medewerkers.

Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences

Who we are

The Department of Communication and Cognition (DCC) studies cognitive and social aspects of human communication through a multidisciplinary approach combining careful experimentation with survey methods, corpus analyses and computational modeling. We consist of about 70 researchers covering a broad range of topics relevant for cognition and communication, and this includes approximately 25 PhD students. Core research domains include communication and technology, cross-cultural communication, information visualisation, marketing and business communication, language production, and non-verbal communication.