Cognitive Science Research Intern – Architectural Cognition in Practice Group

Introduction

ETH Zurich is one of the leading universities of the world with a strong focus on science and engineering. In 2010 it established the Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC) in collaboration with the National Research Foundation (NRF) to do interdisciplinary research on pressing problems.

The centre currently runs several research programmes with the Future Cities Laboratory (FCL) as one of the programmes. It is home to a community of over 100 PhD, postdoctoral and Professorial researchers working on diverse themes related to sustainable cities and resilient infrastructure systems. In the course of their work, researchers actively collaborate with universities, research institutes, industry, and government agencies with the aim of offering practical solutions.

Project background

The Architectural Cognition in Practice module at FCL Global centres on better understanding the impact of built environments on users and explores how this empirical knowledge can be applied in practice by architects and designers. Putting human psychology first, we not only address how architectural or urban features foster positive human behaviours in complex buildings, but most crucially focus on how we translate these findings into actionable design tools, to inform designers on how to make future urban developments more sustainable and resilient. To achieve this, we work as an interdisciplinary team comprising of cognitive scientists, architects and computer scientists, and we partner with industry bodies to bridge academic research and real-world practice.

This module address three key research pillars:

1. How the built environment influences human behaviour, cognition, decision making, and emotion.
2. Understanding how (and how well) designers conceptualise their users.
3. Considering how designers can incorporate research into practice, and therefore be better equipped to anticipate the complexity of human behaviour.

Across all three streams of research, we apply methods and tools from the cognitive sciences and environmental psychology, which allow us to measure spaces and people. These include physiological, behavioural, neural and affective metrics. Alongside this, we conduct spatial analyses, agent-based modelling, and prototyping. Crucially, we meld these different perspectives and tools so that outputs from different domains can inform one another.

Investigators: Prof. Christoph Hoelscher (ETH), Asst. Prof. Zdravko Trivic (NUS), Asst. Prof. Panos Mavros (Télécom Paris, Institut Polytechnique de Paris).

For more information on the project, consult our web page,

https://fcl.ethz.ch/research/integration-and-strategies/architectural-cognition-in-practice.html

Job description

We are hiring a research intern for the Summer break (approx. 1 June – 1 August). The start date is dependent on university exam timetables. During the course of the internship at SEC, the desired candidate must be matriculated at the local university.

As a research intern, you will be supporting the overall research aims and deliverables of the module in collaboration with the researchers based at the Singapore-ETH Centre. Your key responsibilities will be:

1. Co-developing on-going research. This work may include:

• Assisting in the setup and running of behavioural experiments and user studies related to wayfinding and user experience in the built environment.
• Supporting participant recruitment, scheduling, and study logistics.
• Conducting interviews with participants within experiments.
• Supporting behavioural, survey, and interview-based data cleaning, coding, visualisation, and analysis from experiments (qualitative and quantitative).
• Administrative work in organising experiments.
• Conducting literature reviews.
• Co-developing and publishing journal and/or conference articles.

2. Supporting the module research efforts in general. This includes:

• Participating in and contributing to team meetings.
• Assisting researchers across the entire module in their activities.
• Contributing to the preparation of academic papers and other forms of academic output.
• Presenting the module internally and externally and preparing material for such presentations.

Requirements

You must:

• Be enrolled in a Bachelor's/Master's of Cognitive/Behavioural Psychology, Social Sciences, HCI/UX, or another closely related field.
• Have research experience in designing or conducting experiments with human participants.
• Experience with qualitative and/or quantitative data analysis.
• Have excellent academic writing skills.

Nice to have:

• Familiarity with tools for data analysis or visualisation (e.g. SPSS, R, Python, or similar).

You are:

• Self-motivated and independent.
• Experienced in conducting quantitative and qualitative analysis, and motivated to run experiments with human participants.
• Interested in topics related to the research project – particularly demonstrable interest in the intersection of design and human experience.
• A good communicator:
• Proactive: you can signal issues, set and commit to targets
• Rational: you can clearly articulate ideas and thoughts
• Interpersonal: you are able to take and provide constructive feedback
• A professional working proficiency in English is required.
• A team player: collaborative and constructive, and always open to help team members
• Curious and passionate to explore new concepts, methods and technologies. You have the capability to identify and quickly learn the most suitable tools for research on the go.

Why SEC is your employer of choice

• Adopted 5 Tripartite Standards by Tripartite Alliance for Fair & Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) Singapore.
• A diverse workplace with 32 nationalities, offering ample opportunities for mutual learning.
• Positive and inclusive working environment.
• 1 day of Birthday Leave.
• Committed to being a supportive employer as you prioritize your physical and mental wellness.
• Abundant networking opportunities across various disciplines.
• Accredited with NS mark certification.

The Singapore-ETH Centre is an equal opportunity and family-friendly employer. All candidates will be evaluated on their merits and qualifications, without regards to gender, race, age or religion.

Curious So are we.

We look forward to receiving your online application with the following documents (in PDF format):

• Cover letter
• CV

Applications via email or postal services will not be considered. You will be notified if selected for an interview.

Work location: 1 Create Way, CREATE Tower, Singapore 138602 (NUS University Town)

Duration: Internship Contract

Allowance: SGD 1500 - SGD 1700 /month

Further information about SEC can be found on the website: https://sec.ethz.ch/

For further information, please contact: Dr Lara Gregorians at [Confidential Information]