at the BCBL- Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language (San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain) www.bcbl.eu
- INFORMATION ABOUT THE POSITION
- Position: PhD student
- Researcher profile: First Stage Researcher (R1- up to the point of PhD)
- Number of vacancies: 1
- Location: Spain > Donostia-San Sebastián
- Research Field: Psychology > Cognition
- Type of contract/Duration of Contract: Temporary 1+3 years (i.e., the duration of the grant and the labour contract will be one year and can be extendable for 3 more years; maximum 48 consecutive months)
- Job Status: Full-time
- Hours per week: 35
- Starting date: 01/02/2026 (to be confirmed by official announcement)
- CV submission deadline: 25/07/2025
The Brain Rhythms and Cognition group (https://www.bcbl.eu/en/research/research-groups/brain-rhythms-cognition) at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (San-Sebastián-Donostia, Spain) aims to sponsor a candidate for a Basque Government Predoctoral Fellowship (“Programa Predoctoral de Formación de Personal Investigador No Doctor”; a competitive call for predoctoral fellowships awarded by the Basque Government – see last year’s call here).
In our group, we use time-resolved neuroimaging techniques (MEG and EEG) and behavioural responses to understand the dynamics and architecture of cognition, in particular attention, cognitive control, emotion and language processing. Our group also has access to state-of-the-art neuroimaging equipment (https://www.bcbl.eu/en/infrastructure-equipment).
Information about the project:
While existing theories suggest that cognitive conflict effectively triggers cognitive control, its potential intrinsic motivational value, independent of external rewards, has been largely overlooked. This project seeks to address this gap by systematically investigating whether instances of cognitive conflict can serve as a "motivational spin," prompting individuals to exert greater effort and persistence in the absence of external incentives. We will gather subjective and phenomenological data from real-life contexts, systematically manipulate critical factors influencing the experience of cognitive conflict, and collect electro-bio-physiological measurements across the lifespan.
Job description:
We seek a highly motivated candidate with a background in cognitive/computational neuroscience or similar; they will be involved in developing and conducting research projects on the neural and cognitive bases of human attention, cognitive control, emotion and/or language through EEG/MEG, behavioral, bio-signals (e.g., heart rate, skin conductance) and eye-tracking experiments. They will be involved in all steps of the research, from planning to data collection and analysis, including science dissemination through scientific conferences (oral presentations/posters), peer-reviewed journals and outreach.
PI and research group:
The candidate will form part of the Brain Rhythms and Cognition group under the direct supervision of Dr. Manuela Ruzzoli. In our group, we are committed to Open and Reproducible Science, therefore we strongly encourage the candidates to adopt an Open data, Open Science and pre-registration policies.
- CANDIDATE PROFILE AND SELECTION CRITERIA
Eligibility:
- Certificate of Residence in the Basque Country (empadronamiento) at the time of application and, at least, since: 1st January 2025
- A university degree (Bachelor’s) in Psychology, Neuroscience, Cognitive Sciences, Informatics, Engineering and/or neighboring areas obtained on June 2021 or later (extensions may apply, e.g., in the case of maternity)
- A Master’s (or equivalent) degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, Informatics, Engineering and/or neighboring areas
- A minimum of 300 ECTS, 60 of which should correspond to Master’s degree leve
Required skills:
- Previous (demonstrable) experience in human electrophysiological, eye-tracking and behavioural data collection in a cognitive neuroscience lab.
- Basic programming skills (Matlab, Python, R), experience in EEG pre-processing and statistical data analysis.
- Good written and oral communication skills in English
Desirable skills:
- Experience with real time, brain computer interface applications, and/or Machine Leraning
- WORKING CONDITIONS
Salary: TBD (pending official announcement)
(Last year’s call can be found here [in Basque and Spanish], approximate gross salary was ~18.500 – 25.000€/year [depending on the year]. Additional amounts are provided to cover other costs, e.g., travel expenses.)
Entitlements and other benefits: https://www.bcbl.eu/en/join-us/what-is-like-to-work-bcbl
Training opportunities and Career development plan:
Researchers at any stage of their career, regardless of their contractual situation, are given opportunities for professional development and for improving their employability through access to a Personal Career Development Plan which includes
(1) Training through individually personalized research projects under senior supervision
(2) Exchanging knowledge with the scientific community and the general public
(3) Network-wide training in theory and methods
(4) Complementary training courses
(5) Involvement in proposal writing, task coordination
(6) Development of skills for the organization of training and scientific events
BCBL seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support contact us.
- OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION
Language policy
- The corporate language at the Center is English
- Knowledge of Spanish and/or Basque will be an asset for this position, but it is not required
- The center provides initial level Spanish and Basque lessons to all the international staff members
- The interview will be conducted entirely in English
- APPLICATION PROCESS
Submission of the application and documentation:
Interested candidates are invited to send their CV and a brief research statement (1-2 pages) describing their research interests and previous experience, as well as contact data of 1-2 referees to Dr. Manuela Ruzzoli (m.ruzzoli@bcbl.eu) by 25/07/2025.
Learn more about the BCBL’s OTM-R policy
Application process timeline:
- Deadline for application: 25/07/2025
- Evaluation by committee: 28/07/2025-01/08/2025
- Final decision: 04/08/2025
- The selected candidate will be invited to apply for a Basque Government Predoctoral Fellowship (i.e., awarded by the Basque Government). The BCBL admin team will support the selected candidate within the application process.
Contact details for enquiries: hr@bcbl.eu
