PhD in the Gonzalo Cogno Group

This is NTNU

NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

   

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About the job

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

The Neural Dynamics and Computation group, led by Soledad Gonzalo Cogno, is a computational neuroscience group recently established at the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience.

The institute is part of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at NTNU. It was established as a Centre of Excellence in 2002, 2012, and again in 2023. Our new Centre of Excellence, the Center for Algorithms in the Cortex will be funded for 10 years by the Norwegian Research Council. The scientific goal of the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience is to understand neural circuits and systems in the cortex and to identify neural-population mechanisms underlying high-level cognitive functions. 

Exact startup times are flexible, although the position is expected to start during early 2025.

Your immediate leader is Soledad Gonzalo Cogno.

Duties of the position

Using as steppingstone the recently reported ultraslow periodic sequences of neural activity (see Gonzalo Cogno et al., 2023, Nature), the successful candidate will develop computational models to determine the mechanisms by which ultraslow oscillations in the MEC are generated, and how those are organized into periodic sequences. The models will be informed by large-scale neural population recordings (the data will be collected by other team members). The candidate will present their resusults at national and international conferences. The candidate will be required to complete the coursework mandated by the PhD program in neuroscience at NTNU.

Required selection criteria

• A background in Physics, Mathematics, Statistics or related subjects. 
• Master's degree in Neuroscience, Physics, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Engineering, or related subjects.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program
• Strong mathematical background
• Coding experience
• Excellent communication skills in English are imperative, both orally and written.
   
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• Master's students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before the starting date.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Phd candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant 

Preferred selection criteria

• Familiarity with modelling or analysis of large neuronal populations
• Familiarity with neuroscience
• Prior work in the field of computational neuroscience

Personal characteristics

In the evaluation, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal suitability in relation to the qualifications specified in the advertisement. We will place great emphasis on:

• strong personal initiative, self-motivation and work ethic
• a solution-oriented attitude, ability to solve problems independently
• the ability to work collaboratively to accomplish common research goals, in a multidisciplinary team
• willingness to accommodate to the team’s research strategy
• ambition and drive to become an independent researcher

We offer

• excellent opportunities for scientific and personal development in collaboration with skilled co-workers
• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
employee benefits

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 532 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD program in Neuroscience, within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD program during the employment period.

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The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must be attached to the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result.

The application must include: 

• A research statement explaining the experience and the interest of the candidate for the research topic and describing the relevance of the candidate’s background to the research project.
• CV and certificates
• transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the master's thesis. If you recently have submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Name and contact information of three referees
• If you have publications or other relevant research work

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

General information

Working at NTNU

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

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The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

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As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Group Leader Soledad Gonzalo Cogno, e-mail: soledad.g.cogno@ntnu.no.  If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Advisor Lisa Yvonne Mele, e-mail: lisa.y.mele@ntnu.no. 

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.  

Application deadline: 31.01.2025