Assistant Professor research group Eating Disorders & Obesity

INTRODUCTION
The research group Eating Disorders & Obesity aims to unravel the psychological and (neuro)cognitive mechanisms underlying overeating, food craving, dieting, starvation, weight loss and weight loss maintenance, body image and so on. We explore what drives the behavior of people with eating disorders and overweight or obesity. What are the underlying mechanisms? Why does one person lose control over eating, whereas another successfully loses a lot of weight and yet another loses way too much weight? With our knowledge and expertise, we aim to develop better and more effective treatments.

JOB DESCRIPTION
We are searching for a passionate assistant professor who can complement our research group and contribute to teaching in the bachelor and master programs of the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience.

Task and responsibilities

• Develop and maintain an interesting research line in the field of eating disorders and obesity, or participate in an already existing line of research of the team.
• Science communication, including the writing of high-quality scientific papers and conference presentations.
• Apply for research funding (e.g., NWO, ERC).
• Societal outreach activities.
• Mentoring and supervision of PhD students.
• Contribute to a productive and pleasant working environment.
• Take on various teaching roles (e.g., coordinator, tutor, supervisor, mentor) in our bachelor and master programs.

Note that the time division between research and teaching will be approximately 50-50%.

Job requirements

• A PhD in psychology, health science, cognitive neuroscience or a related field.
• Research experience in the domain of obesity, eating disorders or other mental disorders.
• Practice Open Science.
• Excellent research, writing, and presentation skills.
• A University Teaching Qualification (UTQ) or willingness to obtain this.
• Good didactical and teaching skills
• Affinity with Problem Based Learning.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Speaking Dutch or the willingness to learn to speak Dutch.

Embedding: This project is hosted by Maastricht University. You will be based at the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, and will join the research group Eating Disorders & Obesity, which includes approximately 25 members and provides a lively and supportive research environment. For your research, you can collaborate with experienced researchers with diverse skills (clinical, social, and cognitive psychology, network science, and neuroscience). You will teach in the bachelor and master programs of the faculty.

Adviseur Kennisveiligheid

Functieomschrijving
De aandacht voor veiligheid groeit, zowel binnen als buiten onze organisatie. Kennisveiligheid is een redelijk nieuw veiligheidsdomein dat focust op de veilige internationale samenwerking binnen onze internationale context. Ons adagium hierbij is: Yes, unless… Ja, we willen graag internationaal samenwerken. Dat zorgt namelijk voor een wezenlijke bijdrage aan de kwaliteit van ons onderwijs en onderzoek. Tegelijkertijd zijn de risico’s die hiermee gepaard gaan de afgelopen jaren toegenomen. Het waarborgen van de veiligheid en bescherming van gevoelige informatie is van cruciaal belang voor het bevorderen van onze eigen en nationale veiligheid en tegelijkertijd voor het beschermen van onze innovatiekracht.

Binnen kennisveiligheid werkt de UM nauw samen met het MUMC+.

Als adviseur kennisveiligheid maak jij onderdeel uit van de afdeling Integrale Veiligheid binnen het bestuursbureau (MUO) van de UM, en werk je aan de uitvoering van de Nationale Leidraad Kennisveiligheid en de doorontwikkeling daarvan. Dat doe je niet alleen, maar samen met de faculteiten, onze collega’s van het MUMC+, de coördinator kennisveiligheid (tevens manager integrale veiligheid) en de Adviesgroep Kennisveiligheid UM. Het betreft een nieuwe functie binnen de Universiteit Maastricht ten behoeve van het uitbreiden van capaciteit.

Wij zijn op zoek naar een ervaren adviseur die in staat is om kennisveiligheidsvraagstukken te doorgronden en te beoordelen en vervolgens te voorzien van een goed gefundeerd advies. In deze functie heb je met veel medewerkers vanuit verschillende organisatieonderdelen te maken.

• Je bent verantwoordelijk voor het behandelen van kennisveiligheidsvraagstukken. Je bent hierbij het eerste aanspreekpunt van het interne loket kennisveiligheid;
• Je werkt mee aan de evaluatie en actualisatie van beleid en kaders o.b.v. landelijk beleid en eigen ervaringen;
• Je werkt mee aan de verdere doorontwikkeling en professionalisering van kennisveiligheid binnen de UM en MUMC+, mede gebaseerd op het landelijk ontwikkelde Capability Maturity Model;
• Je bent de secretaris van het Adviesteam Kennisveiligheid;
• Je draagt bij aan de bewustwording van kennisveiligheidsrisico’s binnen zowel de UM als het MUMC+;
• Je organiseert, begeleidt en evalueert interne kennissessies kennisveiligheid;
• Je ontwikkelt mede een awarenesscampagne binnen het MUMC+;
• Je werkt mee aan het verkrijgen van inzicht in risicovolle partnerschappen;
• Je werkt mee aan het geven van inzicht omtrent kennisveiligheid bij interne dan wel externe audits;
• Je bereidt de jaarlijkse rapportage kennisveiligheid t.b.v. de besturen voor.

Functie-eisen

• Je hebt een HBO- werk- en denkniveau en affiniteit met Internationalisering, onderzoeksbeleid, criminologie, risicomanagement, veiligheid of andere relevante vakgebieden;
• Geïnteresseerd in thema’s kennisveiligheid en/of veiligheidsvraagstukken, geopolitieke kwesties, academische waarden en beleidsvorming. Ervaring met kennisveiligheid is een pré, evenals kennis en ervaring in de sector Hoger Onderwijs en Onderzoek;
• Je bent een gedreven persoonlijkheid, goed in het onderhouden van interne contacten, servicegericht, oplossingsgericht en praktisch en een pragmatisch denker;
• Integere werkhouding en in staat om met vertrouwelijke informatie om te gaan;
• Initiatiefrijke werkhouding en flexibele ‘mind-set’;
• In staat om zowel zelfstandig als in teamverband te werken;
• Uitstekende beheersing van het Nederlands en Engels, zowel mondeling als schriftelijk, en in staat om complexe materie duidelijk uiteen te zetten.

PhD position in Sensorimotor Development in Early Childhood

Job Description
The section Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, as part of the faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, is looking for a PhD candidate who will delve into the relationship between short-term motor learning, skill acquisition and (neural) motor noise. The project will entail theoretical work, computational modelling and empirical studies with infants, young children and adults. You will collect and analyse motion-tracking data both in highly controlled laboratory settings and in the homes of infants with a motor disorder. Additionally, you will investigate infants’ brain activity during motor tasks.

Your responsibilities will include:

• To perform scientific research in the domain of motor development.
• To be able to work independently, as well as collaboratively in both research oriented and in applied settings.
• To publish the main results in international peer-reviewed journals.
• To assist with educational tasks, e.g., in tutorial sessions and in co-supervising students and internships for instance in the Master Developmental Psychology.

Requirements
We are seeking candidates with the following qualifications:

• Master’s degree (completed or soon to be completed) in Movement Sciences, (Developmental) Cognitive Neuroscience, Human-Technology Interaction, or Developmental Psychology, or a related field
• Experience working with or willingness to work with (young) children
• Strong social/communicative skills
• Ideally: experience with computational modelling and/or proven affinity with programming
• Proficiency in the Dutch language is very desirable given that our participants will be speaking Dutch
• Proficiency in academic writing

PhD at MSI in Circular Business Models for Repair and System Dynamics

Job Description

The PhD in circular business models and ecosystems will be funded through project Fixophobia which is about Improving repair practices for consumer electronics.

Project Fixophobia is a collaborative NWO funded project involving several Dutch academic and business partners, led by Delft University of Technology with Maastricht University as one of the key academic partners. Fixophobia aims to extend the product lifetime of consumer electronics by providing the much-needed, scientific theories, societal tools and system innovations for a multi-actor system change towards a circular economy for consumer electronics. Thus, we intend to increase repair practices among all value chain actors of consumer electronics (incl. consumers), by developing and testing the value of new repair system innovations.

The PhD candidate is expected to conduct novel research with a focus on systems dynamics and circular business models for consumer electronics related to the project. Objectives of the work e.g., include:

• Mapping key actors and their relationships in the transition towards a circular economy in consumer electronics
• Conduction of participatory system modelling workshops to identify (perceived) barriers, enablers, and potential solutions to implement repair for consumer electronics
• Exploring current business models of organizations with different levels of integration of repair practices
• Creating new, innovative business models for product repair, conduct business model experiments and implement pilots

The candidate will be working in a transdisciplinary team, led by Prof. Nancy Bocken, based at Maastricht Sustainability Institute (MSI), Maastricht University, and will be co-supervised by Dr. Joana Wensing at MSI. The candidate is expected to contribute to teaching activities in the field of Sustainable Business at the department, taking max. 20% of his/her time. We offer a dynamic and challenging job in an internationally oriented organisation. MSI has strong collaborations with other institutes and departments at Maastricht University and elsewhere.

Requirements
We are looking for:

• Eligible candidates must have successfully completed a Master degree in relevant areas to the project, including, for example: Sustainability Science, Sustainable and Circular Business, Science and Technology Studies (STS) or Innovation Studies (with a focus on sustainability).
• Someone who has a record of high academic achievement (e.g. good grade for final thesis, other research papers and/or involvement in other academic activities).
• A candidate with a good competence in written and spoken English.
• Strong collaborative and networking skills are desirable.
• Affinity with / or experience with collaborating in multi-disciplinary teams.
• Affinity with / or experience with environmental sustainability issues in consumer electronics and sustainable / circular business model issues (e.g., demonstrated via a relevant thesis or group work).
• Someone who is willing to move to (the vicinity of) Maastricht.

PhD on the Role of Precarious Employment in Developing and Sustaining Work-Life Balance Habits

Meta-analytical studies indicate that social class indicators correlate with healthy behaviours such as eating healthy or regularly exercising. One reason for such associations may be that living in socio-economically resourceful conditions facilitates developing and adhering to beneficial habits. On the contrary, precarious employment as a condition encompassing aspects indicating lower socio economic resources (e.g., job insecurity, low income, limited workplace rights) may hinder developing and maintaining beneficial habits and thus drives social inequality.

This PhD project focuses on habits beneficial for work-life balance. Examples are habits that facilitate boundary management (e.g., leave work at fixed times) or that support engagement in non-work roles (e.g., regularly playing with kids). The project will examine if precarious employment conditions link to encountering specific obstacles (e.g. financial shortages, limited mobility) and hinders that individuals can apply effective strategies when forming and maintaining beneficial habits. We plan to use qualitative interviews, longitudinal designs (potentially using existing databases), and intensive experience sampling (diary) designs to understand these complexities.

Job description
We offer a 4-year PhD position to study how precarious employment conditions may support or hinder the development of adaptive habits. The project combines qualitative, experience-sampling and longitudinal studies and aims at setting the stage for a more contextualized understanding of habit development at the intercept of work and private life. As part of the PhD trajectory, you will develop hypotheses, collect and analyze data, present findings at international conferences, and write articles to be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals that will be part of the PhD thesis. The position also entails a 10% teaching task (being a tutor in the Work and Organizational Psychology Master programme, supervision of bachelor and master theses) and the opportunity to obtain the university teaching qualification (Basis Kwalificatie Onderwijs, BKO). You will be supervised by Dr. Wilken Wehrt, Dr. Bram Fleuren and Prof. Ute Hülsheger and embedded in an enthusiastic team of PhD students, Assistant and Associate Professors that will support you in developing the necessary research and teaching skills.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Work, Social and Organizational Psychology or adjacent fields; Interest and/or knowledge of sociology or related topics is a plus;
• Quantitative research and data analytic skills; experience with and/or affinity to work with data analysis software such as SPSS, R, Matlab, Mplus; Experience in conducting longitudinal or experience sampling studies and/or qualitative designs is a plus;
• Good scientific writing skills;
• Good self-management skills and high levels of proactivity and conscientiousness; experience with approaching people and conducting interviews is a plus;
• Demonstrable interest in research on social inequality, work-life balance and/or habits;
• High willingness to learn and diligence;
• High proficiency in written and spoken English