The University of Turku is a world-class multidisciplinary research university which offers interesting challenges and a unique vantage point to national and international research and education.

IN THE FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF UNIVERSITY ON TURKU, THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYHOLOGY AND SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR

Project researcher in psychology for the period 1 May, 2022 - 31 August, 2025

The Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology conducts internationally high-quality research and provides research-based undergraduate and graduate education in the subjects of psychology and speech-language pathology. The location of the department in the Faculty of Social Sciences in the vicinity of Turku University Central Hospital enables diverse interdisciplinary scientific activities. In addition to teaching and research, the department also acts as a significant influencer in the field of speech-language pathology and psychology. The aim of the department is to reach the international top in research and teaching of speech therapy and psychology.

We are seeking a project researcher to join a team that studies face perception and face-to-face interaction in preverbal children. The project will involve analyzing gaze and facial tracking data collected from infants during structured and naturalistic interactions. The researcher is expected to prepare a doctoral dissertation within the project on a topic that is related to computational modelling of infant attention, (heritability of) infant face processing and infant-parent interaction, or infant face preference and its developmental significance.

We are particularly interested in candidates with strong interest in developing automated eye-tracking and video-based research methods to the analysis of human social behavior. Previous experience in this field and quantitative data-analysis is an advantage, but is not mandatory.

We offer a 4-year position in an inspiring Turku EyeLabs research community, theoretical and methodological guidance on research on human cognitive and social processes, support for developing a career as an academic researcher, and extensive local and international collaboration networks. The successful candidate may spend part of the project time in one of the collaborating research institutions in Finland or abroad to support researcher mobility and to help the candidate in establishing international networks.

Requirements:
The eligibility criteria for the position is defined in the rules of procedure of the University of Turku https://www.utu.fi/sites/default/files/public%3A//media/file/UTU_Rules_of_Procedure.pdf (sections 39). A person selected for the post of project researcher is required to have a higher university degree. When assessing the merits of the applicants, special emphasis will be placed on competence and practical expertise in the field in question.

The position requires fluent oral and written English language skills. In addition, it is required that the succesfull candidate will apply for the rights to complete postgraduate studies and obtain a doctoral degree at the University of Turku.

Salary:
The salary is determined by the collective agreement system of Finnish universities. The position belongs to the category of teaching and research personnel. The pre-estimated salary will be in average 2200-3000 eur/month. The exact salary will depend on the person’s competence and research experience and will be specified when the employment contract is prepared.  Progress in the researcher's personal performance will be taken into account when determining the salary during employment.

The person chosen for the position is expected to begin in their employment on the 1 of May, 2022 or as per agreement. The position is subject to a six (6) months trial period. The person selected must present an extract from the criminal record before the start of the employment relationship. (Act on Determining the Criminal Background of Those Working with Children 14.6.2002 / 504).

Applications:
Applications should be accompanied by curriculum vitae, a possible list of publications, a motivation letter and other documentation which may be relevant to the appointment. The appendices should follow the guidelines of the faculty, see https://www.utu.fi/en/university/faculty-of-social-sciences/career

The electronic database allows the applicant to submit only one application file to each application section. Information on the file forms to be used can be found in the additional information of each application. Please note that the database only allows the publications to be submitted in a packaged form (.zip). One zip-file may include several individual files.

Applications must be submitted by the 15 April, 2022 (23:59) using the electronic application form of the University of Turku on the following address: https://www.utu.fi/en/university/come-work-with-us/open-vacancies The link to the application system is at the beginning of this announcement (“Apply for the job”). 

For further information, please contact Associate Professor Jukka Leppänen, jukka.leppanen(at)utu.fi. Any inquiries about the recruitment process or the e-recruitment system will be answered by HR Specialist Nina Kramsu, nina.kramsu(at)utu.fi.

Working in Finland

The university offers good support and orientation for international hires. Please learn more about the culture and people:

Working culture https://www.infofinland.fi/en/living-in-finland/work-and-enterprise/finnish-working-culture

This is Finland https://finland.fi/

This is Turku & Southwest Finland https://careerinsouthwestfinland.fi/