Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships at the University of Coimbra and the Proaction Lab

Are you (or someone you know) interested in applying to a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA-PF) to work on object perception and recognition using neuroimaging, behavioral and computational approaches (fMRI, 256 ch EEG, MRI/EEG fusion, tDCS, DNNs, etc)? A MSCA-PF can be a great boost to your career if you are looking for a prestigious Fellowship that allows you to pursue your own independent research!

And are you interested in coming to Portugal and widen your research abilities in this beautiful and welcoming country? Then please contact us:

Jorge Almeida and the Proaction Lab, at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, are looking for strong postdoctoral candidates for a conjoint application to a MSCA-PF!

The University of Coimbra and the Proaction Lab (Jorge Almeida’s lab) will provide support on the application. At the University of Coimbra we are committed to provide you with individualized support for the success of your application. We offer help in writing the technical/content (from the Proaction Lab) and non-technical sections (from the Proaction Lab and a group of specialized science communicators and managers) of your application, a wide range of re-location services should you become a Fellow and competitive conditions to maximize the transfer of knowledge and impact of your research (please see more info here). We particularly encourage applications from women, and from underrepresented groups in academia.

About the Proaction Lab:

The lab is now funded by an ERC grant to Jorge Almeida, as well as several national grants. We are interested in how we recognize objects, how different brain regions encode information and constrain encoding and information processing in different distal areas, and how information is organized in the brain. We are currently moving towards a temporal understanding of these phenomena and so we are now also interested in EEG approaches. We have access to a large pool of participants (close to 200 participants per semester), and to behavioral data collection and presentation equipment. We have access to eyetracking and motion tracking techniques. We also have access to a 3T MRI scanner with a 64-channel coil (with EEG inside the scanner), to a 256 Ch EEG that we have just purchased, and to tDCS with neuronavigation.

The University and the City:

The University of Coimbra just celebrated our 730-year-old birthday and it has been selected as a UNESCO world Heritage site. It is one of the most prestigious Universities in Portugal, has attracted the largest amount of European funding of all Portuguese Universities, and has the largest international community of students and researchers. The University of Coimbra aims at supporting excellent research to be conducted within its premises and works to attract young researchers to carry out high-quality, innovative research. The University of Coimbra is among the best major science and technology hubs for applied and fundamental research in Portugal. Also, the UC is a founding member of the network Coimbra Group, a group of leading European universities. Coimbra is one of the most lively university cities in the world, and it is a beautiful city with easy access to the beach and mountain.

You should contact us as soon as you can! The interested candidates should email Jorge Almeida for questions and applications. Please send an email with the subject “MSCA-PF – Proaction” with your curriculum vitae, list of publications, 2 reference letters, and a short description of your experience in the field and how you fulfill the requirements (fit with the position) to: jorgealmeida at fpce.uc.pt. We particularly encourage applications from women, and from underrepresented groups in academia.

Choosing the University of Coimbra as your Host Institution

Arrival & Integration

A number of services are directly available to provide a smooth arrival and integration in the country and city:

• Welcome by the International Relations Unit  (Welcome Centre).
• Help in registration, visa issues and social services, e.g. access to translation phone service
• Family Support
• Help finding accommodation, kindergarten /school
• Spousal job search department
• Child care and education:
  • Bilingual schools, such as St. Paul’s School
  • Public nursery and kindergarten from the Social Services of the University of Coimbra
  • Other subsidized nursery and kindergarten services

Landscape, Tourism & Heritage

Coimbra is 2 hours drive away from the airports of Oporto and Lisbon. With a population of roughly 150.000, its size creates a picturesque community-based urban centre around the University of Coimbra. Classified as UNESCO World heritage site in 2013, the monuments, history and culture of Coimbra hold a prominent position.

The landscape and nature of the central region of Portugal offers an exceptionally high standard of quality of life to Coimbra’s inhabitants. 1 h away from the surrounding mountains, Coimbra provides easy access to explore hiking routes, natural waterfalls, natural lakes, among others. 45 min away from the Atlantic Coast, Coimbra is well-positioned to reach the beach and practice aquatic sports, such as surfing. The gastronomy of the central region is also not to be missed.

Support services @UC

Type of incentive

UC Entity
Support with the submission process
DAPI: dapi at uc.pt
Support for international degree recognition by UC/Portugal
PT: https://www.uc.pt/academicos/graus/reconhecimentos
EN: https://www.uc.pt/en/academicos/graus/reconhecimentos
+Inf: iii at uc.pt

Support for housing
SASUC
PT: https://www.uc.pt/sasuc
EN: https://www.uc.pt/en/sasuc

Welcome services
DRI
PT: https://www.uc.pt/driic
EN: https://www.uc.pt/en/driic

Travel and visa support
DRI
PT: https://www.uc.pt/driic
EN: https://www.uc.pt/en/driic

To be discussed with your host institution or research centre at UC to maximise impact:

• Teaching opportunities in post-graduate courses
• Training opportunities
• Opportunities for mentoring and formal supervision of masters’ and doctoral students
• Opportunities for tenure-track career applications
• Support in the dissemination and communication of the results