Phd candidate Jobs in Rackwitz

Call for applications

The  invites excellent students holding a master's degree (or equivalent) to pursue a PhD in the field of Cognitive NeuroImaging. The IMPRS on Cognitive NeuroImaging covers the highly interdisciplinary and fast-paced fields of cognitive neuroscience, clinical and translational neuroscience, and neuroimaging. With the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS), Leipzig, Leipzig University (LU), TU Dresden (TUD), and University College London (UCL) the IMPRS on Cognitive NeuroImaging integrates leading regional and international partner institutions.

Deadline for applications is 15 November 2023. Interviews will take place at the end of January 2024. The program starts in October 2024.

The IMPRS on Cognitive NeuroImaging aims to recruit and educate international, motivated, curious, independent, self-organized and highly talented doctoral researchers who wish to extend their knowledge and research experience in a structured 3-year PhD program on cognitive neuroimaging.

Applicants should come with an excellent master’s degree (or equivalent) in a wide spectrum of potential disciplines such as cognitive neuroscience, computational neuroscience, translational neuroscience, psychology, medicine, neurobiology, computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics, neuroimaging, biochemistry, or related fields. The master’s degree should have been awarded by an internationally recognized university. Students nearing completion of their master’s degree are also encouraged to apply. Research experience in an area related to the graduate school’s scope is essential for successful candidates. Proficiency in oral and written English is crucial as English is the teaching and supervision language. Applicants with a bachelor’s degree will, in exceptional cases, also be admitted to the school.

The graduate school offers its doctoral researchers outstanding research opportunities in a very international and multidisciplinary environment. It includes access to state-of-the-art cognitive and imaging neuroscience facilities, e.g. 7T MRI scanner, four 3T MRI scanners including a Connectom MRI scanner equipped with ultra-strong gradients (one of only four worldwide), a 306 channel MEG system, several TMS, TDCS, NIRS, and EEG systems.

Research projects and teaching are assigned to three thematic modules (Cognitive Neuroscience, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, Development of Neuroimaging and Modeling Methods). Our faculty is very interdisciplinary and comprises more than 30 highly-renowned researchers from our participating research organisations performing high-end research related to one of the three modules.

The IMPRS on Cognitive NeuroImaging offers its doctoral researchers a cutting-edge educational program that integrates innovative teaching approaches including hybrid teaching, flipped classroom activities, as well as remote learning elements to accelerate students’ learning curves and furthermore emphasizes on Open Science education.

The teaching program is adapted to each doctoral researcher’s individual needs and academic background via an individual development plan and offers a wide range of theoretical and methodological training opportunities in the rapidly evolving field of cognitive neuroimaging. General introductory courses and project-specific advanced training provide doctoral researchers with a solid foundation for their theses. The emphasis on neuroimaging and computational modeling further strengthens this foundation and enables new types of doctoral projects at the leading edge of the field. Lecture series will be supplemented by a broad spectrum of scientific and transferable skills courses and also emphasizes on teaching Open Science and good research practices.

Doctoral researchers receive the opportunity of lab visits for up to three months at one of our partner institutions.

Applications will be reviewed and evaluated in several stages. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interviews with the graduate school’s faculty, which take place in January 2024.

The IMPRS on Cognitive NeuroImaging aims at recruiting excellent doctoral researchers from all genders, nationalities, ethnicities and social backgrounds, sexual orientations, and physical abilities. We are committed to equal opportunities and aim at a diverse student body and thus especially encourage applications from individuals who belong to underrepresented groups in science.

Doctoral researchers will be funded through contracts based on the German TVöD, "Collective Wage Agreement for the Civil Service" and will receive compensation corresponding to 65% percent of pay group 13 of TVöD (which is currently around 36000 € gross annually, i.e. before taxes, health insurance fees, and fees for further social insurances). Alternatively, doctoral researchers may also come with their own funding (such as DAAD, CSC, or other scholarship foundations).

With almost 600,000 inhabitants, Leipzig is the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, 1 hour train-distance to Berlin. In more than 800 years of recorded history, Leipzig emerged as a city of classical music, trade fairs, academic education, and —recently—modern arts. With its many parks, forests, canals and lakes, Leipzig is a perfect place for recreation, sports, and leisure time, and it offers plenty of opportunities for social life. Only recently Leipzig was listed by the New York Times as one of the 52 places to go in 2020.