POSTDOC - THE EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON POPULATION MENTAL AND PHYSICAL WELLBEING (1.0 FTE)

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Job description

The Technology, Human and Institutional Behaviour (HIB)-department, section Psychology, Health and Technology (PHT) at the University of Twente (UT) is seeking a post-doc researcher (1.0 fte) for the project “the effect of Covid-19 on population mental and physical wellbeing”. You will be part of Behavioural Science and Pandemic Preparedness 2.0 consortium, initiated by the Corona Behavioural Unit of the RIVM, with four participating universities. The aim of the consortium is to draw the key scientific lessons from behavioural science data collected during the pandemic. As part of that you will participate in a group of six Postdoctoral researchers, who will also receive dedicated training opportunities on topics such as longitudinal and missing data analysis, and on making scientific study results valuable for policy makers and communication professionals.

To stop spreading the corona virus, unprecedented measures have been implemented by public health authorities, including lockdowns, social distancing, and curfews. In this project, you will study the effect of social restrictions on mental and physical wellbeing, including loneliness. You will also look at the association between infections and vaccinations (both personal and in the household) on wellbeing. Finally, you will look at differences in wellbeing between urban, rural, and border regions.

Your profile

We are looking for an enthusiastic colleague who meets the requirements below:

• You hold (or have nearly obtained) a PhD degree in a relevant discipline, like psychology or a similar or related field
• You have experience with and are skilled in the advanced analysis of longitudinal data from large datasets
• You are a team player and have strong interpersonal skills for building contact with colleagues and (external) stakeholders
• You have scientific creativity and productivity, as demonstrated in recent publications in international peer-reviewed journals or peer-reviewed conferences
• You are proficient in English and Dutch

Our offer

We offer a fulltime position for three years. The university offers a dynamic ecosystem with enthusiastic colleagues in which internationalization is an important part of the strategic agenda. The starting salary, depending on experience, ranges from € 3.807,- to € 5.211,- gross per month (in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities). The UT offers additional attractive employment conditions (8% holiday allowance, 8.3% end-of-year bonus, solid pension scheme, sabbatical leave, professional and personal development programs, etc.). International applicants are likely to qualify for a low 30% tax regime.

Information and application

For more information, please contact prof. dr. Falko Sniehotta ([email protected]) or dr. Anne van Dongen ([email protected]). Please submit your application before 7 November 2021 and include:

• A cover letter of at most 1.5 page, outlining your specific interest, qualifications, and motivation to apply for this position
• A full Curriculum Vitae, including contact information for at least two academic references

We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.

About the department

Many of the major societal challenges of our current and future world—such as transitions in health care, building capacity for resilience and risk-management, creating inclusive and sustainable, safe communities—warrant a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to technological innovations. The department Technology, Human and Institutional Behaviour (HIB) at the University of Twente (The Netherlands) comprises expertise in psychology, communication science and public administration and aims to integrate individual, (inter)organizational, institutional, and societal perspectives on technologies of behaviour change. In addition, innovative technologies are increasingly used to understand human behaviour in our rapidly digitalizing world. The HIB-department is committed to designing, evaluating, implementing and teaching about comprehensive technology-based solutions supporting people in behaviour that promotes their health, safety, resilience, connectedness and joy.

About the organization

The Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social sciences (BMS) aims to play a pivotal role in understanding, co-engineering and evaluating innovation in society. Innovation is driven by advances in technology. By means of 'social engineering', we are here to integrate these advances in society. As a people-first tech university, we align these advances with the needs and behaviour of humans. We ensure proper public and private management as well as robust, inclusive and fair organisational structures. The faculty of BMS does this by developing, transferring and applying high-quality knowledge of Psychology, Business Administration, Public Administration, Communication Science, Philosophy, Educational Science, and Health Sciences. Our research and education in these disciplines is challenge-based. The BMS research programmes are directly linked to our research institutes: Mesa+ Institute for Nanotechnology, the TechMed Centre and the Digital Society Institute.

University of Twente (UT)

University of Twente (UT) has entered the new decade with an ambitious, new vision, mission and strategy. As ‘the ultimate people-first university of technology' we are rapidly expanding on our High Tech Human Touch philosophy and the unique role it affords us in society. Everything we do is aimed at maximum impact on people, society and connections through the sustainable utilisation of science and technology. We want to contribute to the development of a fair, digital and sustainable society through our open, inclusive and entrepreneurial attitude. This attitude permeates everything we do and is present in every one of UT's departments and faculties. Building on our rich legacy in merging technical and social sciences, we focus on five distinguishing research domains: Improving healthcare by personalised technologies; Creating intelligent manufacturing systems; Shaping our world with smart materials; Engineering our digital society; and Engineering for a resilient world.

As an employer, University of Twente offers jobs that matter. We equip you as a staff member to shape new opportunities both for yourself and for our society. With us, you will be part of a leading tech university that is changing our world for the better. We offer an open, inclusive and entrepreneurial climate, in which we encourage you to make healthy choices, for example, with our flexible, customisable conditions.

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