Postdoctoral Researcher as a Junior Research Group Leader

The Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien (IWM) conducts research into the acquisition and sharing of knowledge and cooperation with digital media. The institute is a member of the Leibniz Association (Leibniz Gemeinschaft) and committed to international standards of excellent science.

The IWM invites applications for the position of a

Postdoctoral Researcher as a Junior Research Group Leader (M/F/D)  

Research on and Implementation of Digital Teaching Scenarios

Full-time, initially fixed term for four years, starting as soon as possible

The position has the possibility of a two-year extension following a successful interim evaluation.

To strengthen research into digital teaching scenarios, a junior research group will be set up at the IWM to offer a highly qualified postdoctoral researcher the opportunity to conduct independent research at an early stage. 

The junior research group should focus on research and development of digital teaching scenarios (e.g. using AR, VR, AI, online videos, adaptive tools). The empirical research should capture and analyze teaching and learning processes, for example by video analysis or eye-tracking. Development activities for instance may include AI tools, the creation of dashboards or the integration of AR/VR. 

The junior research group will be part of the newly established "Digital Education" Lab, which will be headed by a professor. 

The TüDiLab (https://www.tuedilab-tuebingen.de/) provides a research infrastructure and serves as a living lab. It is a joint Lab of the University of Tübingen and the IWM linking teacher education with empirical class-room research across various subjects. As a living lab it also promotes co-construction and collaboration with educational practice. The TüDiLab is part of the IWM-Future Innovation Space (FIS: https://future-innovation.space/), a living lab for future educational innovations.

Your tasks:

• Conduct excellent, internationally visible, empirical research on digital teaching scenarios in authentic contexts
• Coordinate the TüDiLab
• Prepare competitive grant applications for third-party funding
• Collaborate with researchers from the Tübingen School of Education (TüSE; https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/einrichtungen/zentrale-einrichtungen/tuebingen-school-of-education-tuese/home/), the Tübingen Center of Digital Education (TüCeDE; https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/research/centers-and-institutes/tuebingen-center-for-digital-education/), and the LEAD Graduate School Research Network (https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/research/core-research/lead-graduate-school-research-network/)
• Contribute to the further development of the IWM
• Participate in teaching at the Department of Psychology at the University of Tübingen (2 hours per week each semester).

Your profile:

• Outstanding Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, Empirical Educational Research, Educational Sciences, subject didactics or a comparable field
• An ambitious and innovative research agenda
• Openness to the research and application context in teacher education
• Excellent English language skills

We offer:

• An excellent research environment for linking basic and applied research, located in central Tuebingen
• The opportunity to establish your own junior research group, including a newly created PhD position (75% E13 TV-L). The team will also include a technical staff member responsible for maintaining the TüDiLab and assisting with empirical studies
• A modern and well-equipped workplace, a cooperative and open working atmosphere and targeted professional development opportunities (including methodological consulting and media technology programming)
• Mobile working option (hybrid), subsidy towards the Deutschlandticket as a job ticket, occupational health management (OHM)
• Reconciliation of work and family life, family-friendly working hours, cost subsidy for pre-school childcare
• Employment, remuneration (pay group 14 TV-L) and social benefits, including company pension scheme and 30 days of annual leave, are based on the collective agreement for the public service in the federal states of Germany (TV-L)

Contact and Application

For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Ulrike Cress via phone: +49 7071 / 979-209 or by email: u.cress@iwm-tuebingen.de.

Please send your detailed written application, including a cover letter, curriculum vitae, copies of certificates and a short research proposal (approximately one page) in a single PDF file by quoting reference number 1007-2025 to career@iwm-tuebingen.de. Preference will be given to applications received by May 31, 2025.

The IWM is committed to increase the number of women in research and therefore strongly encourages qualified women to apply. 

The IWM supports equal opportunities for all people and expressly welcomes applications regardless of age, disability, ethnic, cultural or social background, gender, religion, worldview, or sexual identity. Applicants with severe disabilities will be given preference if equally qualified.

Stiftung Medien in der Bildung (SbR)

Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien

Schleichstraße 6

72076 Tübingen

www.iwm-tuebingen.de