The Department of Biodiversity Sciences at the University of Turku invites applications for a post-doctoral researcher to work in the ERC-funded project NATURETIME. The post-doctoral researcher position is initially offered a 24 months (2 years) full-time contract, potentially renewable for another 33 months. Employment begins in August 2026 at the earliest, and no later than the 1st of October 2026.

The postdoctoral researcher will be working with the Biodiversity and Sustainability Solutions (BISONS) Lab. Our research team aims to contribute toward finding solutions for sustainable futures that can benefit people and nature. We focus on developing new insights on human-nature interactions and using that information to enhance biodiversity conservation and sustainability efforts. We are a growing international and interdisciplinary research group and draw from a range of approaches for our research, with a strong focus on digital data and methods.

The successful candidate is expected to benefit from and collaborate with other team members, including the PI and approximately ten other researchers (MSc and PhD students, post-docs and project researchers), as well as with an extended network of international collaborators.

Job description

The selected post-doctoral researcher will be working under the ERC-funded project entitled “Understanding how nature reshapes human sense of time to foster well-being and sustainable futures” (NATURETIME). The project aims to understand how nature experiences influence human time perception and how time perception influences human behaviours towards nature. For this, the project will use virtual-reality experiments to understand how specific landscape features and nature experiences influence human time perception and validate experimental results using real-world data obtained with citizen science. The project will also model the effects of nature on time perception at the landscape scale under different scenarios and employ behavioural experiments and Big Data analytics to understand how changes in time perception influence pro-environmental and sustainable behaviours. NATURETIME aims to generate actionable knowledge that can inform the design of cities and other living environments in a manner that improves human time perception regulation, boosts well-being, and stimulates the positive and sustainable behaviours needed to address ongoing environmental challenges.

The ideal candidate has an educational background in a spatially focused discipline, such as geography, environmental sciences, landscape ecology, land planning, or any other relevant related areas. Strong spatial data management and analytical skills are essential for this position. The ideal candidate will have experience in developing and managing spatial databases, spatial modelling and automating spatial analytics using computational programming approaches. Experience in spatial image analysis (e.g. remote sensing, street-view) and/or participatory mapping methods are considered highly desirable. The candidate should have demonstrated experience in leading the writing and publication of scientific manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals.

The post-doctoral researcher will be responsible for leading the spatial analytical elements of the project in articulation with the project PI, Assistant Professor Ricardo Correia. Willingness to participate and support teaching activities (no more than 5% of full-time working hours) is considered highly desirable.

Who we are looking for

The job requirements for the position include:

• A doctoral degree (PhD or equivalent) in geography, environmental science, landscape or spatial ecology, spatial land planning, or other related relevant fields;
• Strong spatial analytical skills, including the use of relevant programming languages (e.g. Python, R) to automate large scale spatial analyses;
• Knowledge of developing and maintaining spatial databases (e.g. PostGIS or similar);
• Excellent communication skills in English, both spoken and written. Knowledge of Finnish language is also desired but not essential;
• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.

In addition, the ideal candidate would also have:

• Demonstrated experience in spatial image analysis (e.g. remote sensing, street-view) and/or participatory methods (e.g. PPGIS, citizen science);
• Demonstrated interest in human-nature interactions and/or sustainability topics;
• Proven ability to produce peer-reviewed publications in international journals;
• Demonstrated interest in teaching development and implementation, as well as student supervision.

The position requires working in Finland, and the place of work is Turku. We value collegiality and promote equality, diversity, and inclusivity. We encourage all qualified applicants with different backgrounds to apply for our open positions.