Postdoc: Climate, human behaviour and dengue forecasting

Unist; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 41,000 - 64,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary: UFO Researcher 4 scale

8% holiday allowance

8.3% end-of-year bonus

Commuting contribution

Personalized benefits package

Job summary

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam seeks a researcher for the FEEL project to explore how emotions from news and social media can improve dengue forecasts alongside climate data. Based in the Institute for Environmental Studies, you will connect human behaviour, climate, and health through innovative modelling.

The role requires a PhD in a quantitative discipline, strong programming skills in Python or R, and experience with spatial-temporal data. 8 months, 0.8 FTE, temporary contract.

Qualifications

• A PhD in climate science, environmental science, physics or a related quantitative discipline is required by start date.
• Experience with statistical modelling of climate impacts, health outcomes or social vulnerability.
• Strong programming skills in Python or R and experience combining spatial and temporal data.
• Willingness to learn text analysis and emotion detection methods; prior experience is welcome but not required.
• Ability to work independently and collaborate across disciplines with strong written and spoken English.

Responsibilities

• Develop and evaluate methods to derive indicators of human emotions from news and social media.
• Integrate emotion indicators with dengue surveillance records and climate data for forecasting.
• Build and validate forecasting models to test emissions of emotion indicators on predictions.
• Assess usefulness of indicators across locations and lead times; document methods and code.
• Prepare a scientific manuscript and contribute to reproducible research.

Skills

Python

R programming

Statistical modelling

Spatial data analysis

English communication

Education

PhD in climate science, environmental science, physics or related quantitative discipline

Tools

Python

R

GIS

Job description

Psychological sciences » Behavioural sciences

Organisation/Company Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) Research Field Environmental science » Ecology Environmental science » Global change Psychological sciences » Behavioural sciences Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Application Deadline 19 Nov 2026 - 22:59 (UTC) Country Netherlands Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Not Applicable Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

In the NWO-funded FEEL project (Forecasting dengue Epidemics using Emotion and Language), for 8 months you will investigate whether emotions expressed in news and public social media can improve dengue forecasts alongside climate information. Based at VU Amsterdam’s Institute for Environmental Studies, you will help shape research connecting human behaviour, climate and health.

Your duties

• you develop and evaluate methods to derive indicators of human emotions from news and public social media you and integrate them with dengue surveillance records and climate data
• you build and validate forecasting models to test whether emotion indicators improve predictions beyond climate and past dengue incidence
• you assess the usefulness of these indicators across locations and lead times
• you prepare a scientific manuscript and document your methods and code for reproducible research
• you have, or will have completed by the starting date, a PhD in climate science, environmental science, physics or a related quantitative discipline
• you have experience with statistical modelling of climate impacts, health outcomes or social vulnerability
• you have strong programming skills in Python or R and experience combining and analysing spatial and temporal datasets
• you are motivated to learn and apply text analysis and emotion detection methods, with previous experience welcome but not essential
• you can work independently and collaborate across disciplines, with strong written and spoken English

We realise that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. Therefore we are happy to invite anyone who recognises themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not meet all the requirements.

Additional Information

A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable. So in return for your efforts, we offer you:

• a salary of minimum € 3.706,00 (Scale 10) and maximum € 5.760,00 (Scale 10) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile Researcher 4. The exact salary depends on your education and experience.
• a position for at least 0.8 FTE for the project duration of 8 months.

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and regulations. Some examples:

• a full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• contribution to commuting expenses
• optional model for designing a personalized benefits package