Connecting Science
About Connecting Science
At the Faculty of Science, we aim to conduct research with impact on science and society. With the Connecting Science programme we give a boost to this ambition by:
- Attracting top talent in prioritised fields of research
- Creating synergy through connecting disciplines
- Strengthening academic collaboration with partners
- Creating an environment where co-creation with public and private partners can flourish
Synergy
With our Connecting Science campaign we strive to exploit opportunities for synergy through interdisciplinary research subjects. Several of the positions will lead to joint appointments with two institutes at the Faculty of Science or incorporate interdisciplinary aspects within their own research area. Over the past years, we have gained positive experience with such joint faculty appointments, where the interdisciplinary connections have helped to open numerous impactful research areas in e.g. computational science, mathematical physics, quantum information and astroparticle physics. Moreover, in many scientific disciplines the development of new ways to extract relevant information from large data sets is increasingly important, using machine learning, mathematical statistics, pattern recognition or filtering methods. These aspects are important to many of the positions we offer.
Disciplines
The disciplines involved with the Connecting Science campaign are Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics. The new positions will allow us to connect to exciting new fundamental developments both within and across the disciplines.
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Chemistry
With around 200 researchers from over 30 countries, the Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences (HIMS) has a truly international character. The core objective of HIMS is to understand and predict the behaviour of molecules in increasingly complex processes and systems. Research is organised in four themes: Analytical Chemistry, Computational Chemistry, Molecular Photonics and Sustainable Chemistry. Within each theme, the researchers operate at the forefront of their respective field, and achieve unique synergy in designing, creating, characterizing and understanding molecular systems, to perform curiosity-driven research and address important societal and industrial challenges.
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Computer Science
The research mission of UvA’s Informatics Institute (IvI) is to perform curiosity-driven and use-inspired (fundamental) research in computer science. It concerns complex information systems at large, with a focus on three major themes: artificial intelligence, computational science, and system and network engineering. The institute is leader in these clusters in the Netherlands and aims to be in the top 5 in Europe in each of them. Research is conducted in a highly collaborative manner: within the three focus clusters, across the clusters and in cooperation with scientific, industrial and not-for-profit partners around the planet.
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Mathematics
The Korteweg-de Vries Institute for Mathematics (KdVI) is dedicated to seeking out new answers to fundamental mathematical challenges arising from applications and from new conceptual mathematical insights. The KdVI shares this knowledge and experience through local and national (educational) programmes, hosts the national Master’s programme Mastermath and is the coordinator of the Gravitation Programme NETWORKS.
Although the research at the KdVI is fundamental and conceptual by nature, we are also engaged with societal and industrial partners to co-create in areas such as quantum information theory, financial mathematics and networks. Given the growing impact of mathematics in modern society, the KdVI expects to extend such collaborations to other areas of application as well in the coming years.
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Physics
Physics is evolving from a discipline addressing curiosity-driven fundamental questions to being at a crucial position at the crossroads of exciting cross-disciplinary developments. The Institute of Physics (IoP) at the UvA is playing a pivotal role in many of these developments. Capitalising on its own strengths and its strong ties with the NWO institutes at Amsterdam Science Park, it is creating the largest physics ‘hub’ in the Netherlands and an international centre of excellence. During the past decade, the IoP has initiated three successful research priority areas within the faculty and university: Gravitation Astroparticle Physics Amsterdam (GRAPPA), Quantum Matter & Quantum Information (QM&QI), and Soft Matter. At the national level, the institute plays a key role in many consortia, including two NWO gravitation programmes (the Delta Institute of Theoretical Physics and the Quantum Software Consortium) and ARCNL.
Diversity
The UvA is an equal-opportunity employer. We prioritise diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for everyone. We value a spirit of enquiry and perseverance, provide the space to keep asking questions, and promote a culture of curiosity and creativity.
Enhancing the diversity among our scientific staff is one of the key objectives of Connecting Science, where our main focus is on improving gender balance. The Faculty of Science has a track record for attracting female talent to faculty positions through its recurring MacGillavry Fellowship programme. In the Connecting Science campaign, too, we are aiming to fill a substantial fraction of the available positions with female talent.
Career development
At the Faculty of Science, we offer a stimulating environment and excellent conditions for research, tightly connected to challenging taught programmes at the Bachelor's and Master's level. Career development is based on achievements in research and teaching. Specific information about career development is given in the separate vacancies for each of the available positions.
Selection process
For each position, a dedicated selection committee will review the applications soon after the application deadline. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview and asked to conduct a public seminar. A second interview could be part of the selection process.
Strengthening academic partnerships
It is our goal to further increase the impact of our science on society by addressing societal challenges and expand the Dutch knowledge-based economy. Being embedded in the quickly growing Amsterdam Science Park allows us to actively pursue this through long-term partnerships with companies and by initiating new startups. Prime examples of such co-creation include the public-private partnership with ASML partnership in the Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (ARCNL) as well as the AI industry labs with Qualcomm, Bosch and Ahold Delhaize in the Innovation Centre for Artificial Intelligence (ICAI), co-founded by UvA and VU. Many other partnerships are already in place and highly successful, in particular with the NWO institutes at Amsterdam Science Park (Nikhef, AMOLF, CWI, NLeSc). With the Connecting Science programme we are strengthening these partnerships.