This is a reminder for the call for one Tenured Assistant Professor position on Cognitive Neuroscience is now open.

If you are interested in applying, please see the end of this post. You can apply here.

The Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Coimbra (FPCE-UC) Portugal invites applications from rising and aspiring leaders in Cognitive Neuroscience for 1 Assistant Professor position in Cognitive Neuroscience. These positions are part of a transformative ERA Chair grant CogBooster 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 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 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@wjh.harvard.edu) and Jorge Almeida (jorgecbalmeida@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/IT136-24-14927 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 – Cognitive Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology, with a focus on understanding major cognitive processes.

                                                           iii.      A section on scientific performance (focus mainly on your work in 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 Cognitive Neuroscience, highlighting 5 major papers, and demonstrating how relevant these outputs were for 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 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 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 – 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 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 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