项目介绍

2026年8月13日

Postdoctoral Research Fellow position

There is a vacancy for a postdoctoral research fellow position at the Department of Psychosocial Science, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen (UiB). The position is for a fixed-term period of 3 years and is part of the project “Evolution of Cognitive Tools for Quantification (QUANTA)”, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) with a Synergy Grant to Andrea Bender (UiB), Francesco d’Errico (CNRS Bordeaux), Russell Gray (MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig), and Rafael Núñez (UiB). The position is scheduled to begin by 1 January 2027 at the latest.

About the project/work tasks:

QUANTA aims at reconstructing the origin and evolution of numeral systems: when and why they were invented, and how and why they diversified. The 6-years project, which started in September 2021, is located at three institutions – UiB, CNRS Bordeaux, and MPI EVA Leipzig – who engage in frequent and close collaboration and exchange.

The postdoctoral research fellow position will be part of the team lead by Prof. Dr Andrea Bender (UiB) and will be devoted to the compilation of data on body-based counting systems into a large-scale database, coding these data for representational analyses, and using them for testing hypotheses on the evolution of cognitive tools for quantification. 

More information about the research project is available on this website. 

Qualifications and personal qualities:

• You must must hold a Norwegian PhD or an equivalent degree, or must have submitted your doctoral thesis for assessment prior to the application deadline. It is a condition of employment that the PhD has been awarded
• The PhD must be in psychology or another cognitive or social science with a focus on cognition and cultural evolution. 
• You must have experience with large-scale literature search and database construction and knowledge of numerical cognition and cultural evolution. You must also have expertise in at least one of the following scientific methodologies; additional experience in a second one is desirable:
  • harvesting large-scale ethnographic databases
  • representational analysis
  • cognitive experiments and/or anthropological fieldwork, 
    preferably including cross-cultural or cross-linguistic research methods
  • phylogenetic comparative analyses with Bayesian computational tools
• You must have experience with body-based numeral systems. Familiarity with numeral systems in sign language is also desirable and will be considered an advantage.
• You must have the ability to work independently and in a structured manner and must be willing and able to cooperate with others. Experience with cross-disciplinary collaboration is especially desirable and will be considered an advantage.
• Proficiency in both written and oral English is required. 

Personal and relational qualities will be emphasized. Research experience, ambitions, and potential will also count when evaluating the candidates.

About the position of postdoctoral research fellow:

The position of postdoctoral research fellow is a fixed-term appointment with the primary objective of qualifying the appointee for work in top academic positions. The fixed-term period for this position is 3 years. Individuals may not be hired for more than one fixed-term period as a postdoctoral research fellow at the same institution.

Upon appointment, applicants must submit a project proposal for the qualifying work including a work schedule. For postdoctoral research fellow positions associated with externally financed projects, the completion of the project proposal for the qualifying work will take place in consultation with the project/centre manager. It is a requirement that the project is completed in the course of the period of employment.

We can offer:

• Exciting development opportunities as part of your role in a strong professional environment
• An annual salary of NOK 685 900 before taxes (position code 1352) according to the state salary scale. Further promotions are made according to length of service. For particularly highly qualified applicants, a higher salary may be considered
• Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• Good welfare benefits

Your application must include:

• A brief account of your research interests and motivation for applying for the position. This should include a paragraph each on how the qualification criteria described above are met (with special focus on those experiences that would be relevant for QUANTA), and how your research interests pertain to the advertised position and the QUANTA context.
• The names and contact details of two referees. One of these must be the main supervisor from the PhD programme.
• CV
• Diplomas and transcripts. If you have not yet completed your doctoral degree, you must submit an official confirmation that the doctoral thesis has been submitted.
• Complete list of publications
• Any publications in your name you want to be included in the evaluation of your application (maximum 3).
• Relevant certificates/references