PhD Position: Language Evolution using Swarm Robotics at the Donders Centre for Cognition

1. Introduction

How and why did human language evolve? What are the social, cognitive, and environmental pressures that drive the emergence of language and shape its structure? As a PhD candidate, you will explore the ecological conditions under which compositionality and dishonest signalling emerge in novel communication systems, using state-of-the-art swarm robotics models.

2. Job description

Since there are no archaeological records of early humans’ brains and words, we do not know what the first language(s) looked like, and under which pressures they evolved. This led linguists and cognitive scientists to abandon the study of language evolution for decades. Yet, with the rise of modern cutting-edge technologies, we can now use novel, data-driven methods to explore the ancient past and unpack the origin of language.

This PhD position involves developing and combining innovative tools that effectively simulate language evolution de novo and in silico in order to shed light on the pressures that drive and shape language evolution in artificial 3D environments. Specifically, this project focuses on two fundamental aspects of human language that give rise to language’s unparallel expressive power – namely its grammatical structure and our propensity to lie – and test under which social and environmental conditions these two features spontaneously emerge as beneficial and stable strategies that boost the evolutionary fitness of humans and simulated agents. By systematically manipulating the social conditions (cooperation vs. competition, solo vs. group foraging) and landscapes (poor vs. rich resource availability, clustered vs. uniform resource spread) in which humans and robots forage, you will shed light on the unique set of pressures that promote the emergence of grammar and lying in new communication systems – and map the possible ecological niches in which early humans evolved language.

You will be directly responsible for the swarm robotics side by designing and executing an interactive, foraging-navigation game, both simulated and in-house. For this, knowledge of swarm robotics hardware and software is required. You will also work closely together with our VR lab to ensure the creation of comparable virtual worlds in which robots and humans face similar ecologies, explore their surroundings and collect resources using similar means, and communicate with each other using similar signals. To this end, you will join a dynamic, interdisciplinary research environment and will also become a part of the Language Evolution and Adaptation in Diverse Situations (LEADS) group at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. You may also join the graduate training programme provided by the International Max Planck Research School for Language Sciences (IMPRS).

Would you like to learn more about what it’s like to pursue a PhD at Radboud University? Visit the page about working as a PhD candidate. 

3. Profile

• You have a Masters’ degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., computer science, artificial intelligence, computational biology, robotics). Students who expect to have received their Master’s degree by summer 2025 are welcome to apply.
• You have proven experience with designing and using swarm robotics models, including knowledge in relevant robotics software (e.g., C++, ARGoS, Gazebo, ODE, Webots, USARSim) and hardware (e.g., sensors/actuators, Arduino, Raspberry Pi).
• You have a keen interest in language evolution, language change, language learning, human evolution, and communication.
• You have experience in data analysis, visualizations and programming in R and/or Python.
• You have experience in, and aptitude for, complex statistical modelling (inc. mixed effects regression models and/or Bayesian statistics).
• You have experience in conducting empirical research (e.g., experimental design, stimuli selection, recruitment, participant testing, report writing) – an advanatge.
• You have experience with Virtual Reality experiments – an advanatge.
• You have existing peer-reviewed journal publications and conference presentation experience – an advanatage.

4. We are

The Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour is a world-class interfaculty research centre, that houses more than 700 researchers devoted to understanding the mechanistic underpinnings of the human mind. Research at the Donders Institute is focused around four themes:

1. Language and communication
2. Perception, action and control
3. Plasticity and memory
4. Neural computation and neurotechnology.

Excellent, state-of-the-art research facilities are available for the broad range of neuroscience research that is being conducted at the Donders Institute. The Donders Institute has been assessed by an international evaluation committee as ‘excellent’ and recognised as a ‘very stimulating environment for top researchers, as well as for young talent’. The Donders Institute fosters a collaborative, multidisciplinary, supportive research environment with a diverse international staff. English is the lingua franca at the Institute.

5. We offer

• We will give you a temporary employment contract (1.0 FTE) of 1.5 years, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, your contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4-year contract).     
• You will receive a starting salary of €2,901 gross per month based on a 38-hour working week, which will increase to €3,707 in the fourth year (salary scale P).
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus. 
• We offer Dual Career Coaching. The Dual Career Coaching assists your partner via support, tools, and resources to improve their chances of independently finding employment in the Netherlands. 
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20. 

6. Practical information and applying

You can apply only via the button below. Address your letter of application to Limor Raviv. In the application form, you will find which documents you need to include with your application.

The first interviews will take place on Wednesday 10 September. You will preferably start your employment as soon as possible.

We can imagine you're curious about our application procedure. It describes what you can expect during the application procedure and how we handle your personal data and internal and external candidates.