"Postdoc in Creativity, Translation and Technology"

Applications are invited for a Postdoc position within the research project “Uncovering the creative process: from Inception to Reception of translated content using machine translation” (INCREC), financed by an ERC Consolidator Grant and coordinated by the Principal Investigator (PI), Prof. Ana Guerberof-Arenas.

The new machine translation paradigms have drastically changed society’s perception of technology and the act of translation. The recent advances in large language models and generative AI has highlighted the need to understand how the creative mind works when translating and the differences experienced by readers and viewers when working with technology.

INCREC aims to understand the creative process of translation of literary and audiovisual content and its reception by users with various techniques to enhance MT use, thus improving the translator's working environment and job sustainability, as well as the user experience. To better understand this complex process, INCREC triangulates data from eye-tracking, retrospective think-aloud interviews, translated material, diaries and questionnaires from professional translators and users.

The project is hiring a postdoc who will work alongside the PI and an existing team composed of 1 Research coordinator and 3 PhDs. The postdoc will work in the Netherlands (Groningen) but might spend a brief amount of time in Spain for fieldwork (to collect data).

The Postdoc Project: You will work individually on your work package but also collaborate with the other team members. The aim of the work package is to analyse and classify how users relate to creativity in AVT in different translation modalities, define whether user attention and preference is linked to creativity, and gather data on how errors affect user attention. You will use a mixed method approach to analyse the impact that technology has on creative content and how creativity influences the reception of audiovisual content using an eye-tracker, engagement questionnaires and interviews.

You will be asked to: Complete a work package on AVT reception with viewers using an eye-tracker, and write at least two papers, attend two conferences and two seminars as a result of this experimental process. Familiarise yourself with the research project and instruments (including an Eye-link eye-tracker). Recruit and qualify participants for your experimental research. Collect data from viewers independently as well as together with the principal investigator and other team members, if applicable, with the proposed instruments. Analyse data quantitatively (statistics) and qualitatively (coding for interviews). Co-organize research meetings within the Centre for Language and Cognition and the Network of Interdisciplinary Translation Studies in the Netherlands and Belgium. Contribute to the project’s public outreach and social media activities. Contribute to the INCREC project goals and meetings.

Organisation: The University of Groningen. Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has established an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative university offering high-quality teaching and research. Its 33,000 students are encouraged to develop their own individual talents through challenging study- and career paths. The University of Groningen is an international centre of knowledge: It belongs to the best research universities in Europe and is allied with prestigious partner universities and networks worldwide.

The Faculty of Arts: The Faculty of Arts is a large, dynamic faculty in the heart of the city of Groningen. It has more than 5000 students and 700 staff members, who are working at the frontiers of knowledge every day. The Faculty offers a wide range of degree programmes: 15 Bachelor's programmes and over 35 Master's specialisations. Our research, which is internationally widely acclaimed, covers Archaeology, Cultural Studies, History, International Relations, Language and Literary Studies, Linguistics and Media and Journalism Studies.

You will be affiliated with the Center for Language and Cognition (CLCG) a research institute of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. CLCG engages in multidisciplinary linguistic, neuropsychological, and computational research on language and communication. You will work more closely with the Computational Linguistics group, consisting of 52 members including academic staff and PhD students.

Requirements: A PhD degree in any area related to the project (e.g. Translation Studies, Digital Humanities, Linguistics, Literary Studies, Information Science, Computer Science, Cognitive Science/Psychology). Experience using eye-tracking as part of experimental research. Experience with quantitative/qualitative methods (statistical methods and interview analysis). Experience as audiovisual translator is a distinct advantage. Knowledge of Dutch and Spanish is an advantage. Other language combinations can be considered for the post. Experience with AVT tools is an advantage. An independent, proactive work ethic. A flexible, mobile and internationally oriented mentality. Excellent academic writing skills in English.

Conditions of employment: Fixed-term contract: 12 months. In accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, the University of Groningen offers you: A salary of € 4,728 (salary scale 11.0) gross per month for 1.0 FTE (full-time position). 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% end-of-year bonus. Participation in a pension scheme for employees. Favourable tax agreements for non-Dutch applicants may be applicable. 232 holiday hours per calendar by full-time employment. Employment contract 0.8 FTE for the duration of 12 months, ending by operation of law after this period. A temporary extension of the contract is a possibility. The position in this project can last up to 30 months in total. The appointment will commence in March 2026 (with certain flexibility). We allow 3 months from selection in case of VISA applications.