13 PhD POSITIONS available in the framework of the HUM.AI.N-ACCENT MSCA Doctoral Network

Project: Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON) Doctoral Networks, ‘Bridging Communication Gaps in Human and Human-AI Interactions: The Role of Accented Speech on Neurocognitive mechanisms and Social Dynamics’ (HUM.AI.N-ACCENT)

The Doctoral Candidatse (DCs) will be part of an international network of 13 research labs located throughout Europe who work on the EU funded HUM.AI.N-ACCENT project. The full consortium count with a total of 24 academic and non-academic partners in Europe, Canada and the USA. As part of the training, the DC will attend regular events across Europe and will realise short stays (secondments) to at least two Beneficiary/Partner Organisations.

HUM.AI.N-ACCENT is an interdisciplinary research project that explores the neurocognitive and social impacts of foreign-accented speech in human-human and human-AI interactions. With millions of new arrivals to the European Union each year, there is an urgent need to understand how foreign accents influence communication, decision-making, and social dynamics. Research has shown that foreign-accented speech can generate biases and increase cognitive load, yet the origins and consequences of these effects are still poorly understood. The project aims to fill this gap by combining insights from cognitive psychology, neuroscience, AI engineering, human-computer interaction, and social science, with lifespan perspectives. Using advanced methodologies like neuroimaging, eye-tracking, virtual reality, and neural tracking, the project will investigate how foreign-accented speech affects neural responses, attention allocation, and social judgments. By studying both human-human and human-AI interactions, the project will provide critical insights into how accents shape communication and behaviour in diverse contexts.

Further information about the project: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101226709

PhD positions are available at:

Nebrija University, Spain    

https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/372608

Basque Center on Cognition, Brain & Language, Spain

https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/368766  and https://www.bcbl.eu/en/join-us/job-offers/funded-phd-candidate-position-accented-speech-processing

University of Barcelona, Spain       

Please, check the university job vacancies in the following days for further information: https://www.neurociencies.ub.edu/job-offers/

Open University of Catalonia, Spain         

Please, check the university job vacancies in the following days for further information: https://www.uoc.edu/portal/en/uneix-equip/ofertes/index.html

Bangor University, UK

https://www.bangor.ac.uk/studentfinance/postgraduate/funding#psychology

Radboud University, Netherlands  

Please, check the university job vacancies in the following days for further information

University of Padova, Italy (2 positions)    

https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/373324

University of Oslo, Norway 

https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/374275

University of Lille, France  

https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/373010

Free University of Brussels, Belgium         

https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/370780

University College Dublin, Ireland

Please, check the university job vacancies in the following days for further information: https://www.ucd.ie/ics/vacancies/phdopenings/ and https://www.adaptcentre.ie/careers/

University of Bern, Switzerland (funded by the SERI) https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/372867 and https://ohws.prospective.ch/public/v1/jobs/77c6f78a-ac01-4c09-9908-66b17fbc18ce