The Department of Biodiversity Sciences at the University of Turku invites applications for a post-doctoral researcher to work in the ERC-funded NATURETIME project. 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 post-doctoral 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 a strong background in psychology (a time psychology or environmental psychology focus is highly desirable), but other related areas may also be considered. Additionally, the ideal candidate will also have experience in subjective time perception assessments (e.g. questionnaires, timing experiments) in real-world and/or laboratory conditions. Experience running experiments using Virtual Reality (VR) environments is considered highly desirable. The candidate should be able to demonstrate strong (quantitative and/or qualitative) data analysis skills and experience in leading the writing and publication of scientific manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals.

The post-doctoral researcher will assist the project PI, Assistant Professor Ricardo Correia in designing laboratory experiments to assess time perception in response to exposure to different environments and will lead the implementation of these experiments in collaboration with other project researchers. The post-doctoral researcher will also be responsible for analysing the data obtained and preparing scientific manuscripts for submission. Willingness to participate and support teaching activities (no more than 5% of full-time working hours) is considered an advantage.

Who we are looking for

The job requirements for the position include:

• A doctoral degree (PhD or equivalent) in psychology or other related relevant fields. A research focus on either time or environmental psychology is desirable,
• Strong qualitative and/or quantitative data analysis skills (experience in both quantitative and qualitative data analysis is considered an advantage),
• Proven experience in designing and running laboratory experiments independently,
• 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:

• Experience in subjective time perception and subjective well-being assessments (e.g. questionnaires, timing experiments),
• Experience using Virtual Reality technology in laboratory experiments,
• Knowledge of iMotions or other similar experimental research platforms,
• 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.