Join our project to develop a virtual ship classroom to let oceanography (under)graduate students experience sea-going fieldwork!

Your job
While the experience of sea-going research is valuable, it is very expensive and logistically challenging to support large groups of students joining research expeditions at sea. Therefore, novel technologies to provide students with some experience similar to sea-going field work are needed. In 2023, we started development of a Virtual Ship Classroom, which has been tested in the Marine Science curriculum at Utrecht University. The development has so far focussed on physical oceanography but we are now ready extend to biology and geology too.

In this postdoc project, you will join the team that develops the Virtual Ship Classroom. You will extend the code to include biogeochemistry data and sampling methods. You will particularly focus on developing a set of interactive python notebooks to let students work with biological and geological marine data collection. You will also help to evaluate the viability (and identify challenges) of integrating the 'virtual expedition' by assessing its pedagogical usability and student learning outcomes.

During the project, you will be involved in:

• creating python notebooks to take virtual biological and geological samples in the ocean, based on data from the Copernicus Marine Service and the oceanparcels.org framework;
• working with lecturers of (under)graduate courses to implement the notebooks into the course curriculum;
• support the assessment of the notebook’s effectiveness in pedagogical usability and students' intended learning outcomes using student observations, surveys and interviews.

You will work in a diverse and interdisciplinary team including colleagues with expertise in oceanography, virtual reality, and education research.

Our ideal candidate has a driven and collaborative spirit and has multiple of the following:

• a PhD in a field related to oceanography or marine sciences;
• strong skills in python programming;
• motivated to cooperate within a dynamic, diverse, multidisciplinary research team;
• excellent level of written and spoken English;
• experience in developing educational material would be considered a plus;
• preferably experience with software development practices such as version control and unit-testing.

We offer:

• a position for 21 months;
• a working week of 38 hours and a gross monthly salary between €3,345 and €5,278 in the case of full-time employment (salary scale 10 under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University has a number of schemes and facilities of its own for employees. This includes schemes facilitating professional development, leave schemes and schemes for sports and cultural activities, as well as discounts on software and other IT products. We also offer access to additional employee benefits through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage our employees to continue to invest in their growth. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

Universiteit Utrecht

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Sharing science, shaping tomorrow.

Working at the Faculty of Science means bringing together inspiring people across disciplines and with a variety of perspectives and backgrounds. The Faculty has six departments: Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Information & Computing Sciences, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Together, we work on excellent research and inspiring education. We do so, driven by curiosity and supported by outstanding infrastructure. Visit us on LinkedIn and discover how you can become part of our community.

You will work at the Freudenthal Institute of Utrecht University an internationally leading institute in the field of science didactics and the history and philosophy of science. The FI is part of the Faculty of Science and employs approximately 75 professionals, including a number of young people who are conducting postdoctoral research just like you. Within the FI, you will work in the science communication and the science education groups. The science communication group, which includes Erik van Sebille, the adviser for this project, focusses on the Science in Society research theme within the broader topic of Scientific and Mathematical Literacy in Life and Society.

You will also connect with the other group of Erik van Sebille, working on oceans and climate at the Institute for Marine and Atmospheric research, and with interdisciplinary marine scientists through the Pathways to Sustainability Strategic Research Theme at Utrecht University, and with the Public Engagement track within the UU Open Science Programme.