Postdoc in ‘Unleashing Creativity in Higher Education with Generative AI’

Introduction

Worldwide, policy makers and educators call for creativity in higher education to address increasingly complex societal problems, such as climate change or the refugee crisis, which cannot be solved by individuals alone.

Creative Problem-Solving (CPS) is a structured, iterative approach that enables groups in collaborative learning environments to tackle such complex challenges. The CPS framework typically includes stages such problem definition, idea generation, idea evaluation, and idea implementation. 

While collaborative learning has long been supported by technological tools – from wikis to robots, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) introduces new opportunities to assist students working together on creative problem-solving tasks. To fully harness this potential, a deeper understanding is needed of how students in higher education engage with GenAI throughout the different phases of the Creative Problem-Solving (CPS) process and how they perceive GenAI as a (potential) teammate in creative collaboration. This postdoctoral project addresses these gaps by designing evidence-based interventions for each phase of the CPS process, and investigate how students—with and without these interventions—use and experience GenAI across these phases.

This postdoctoral position is embedded in the NWO Veni funded research project ‘Beyond brainstorming: Unleashing creativity in higher education with Generative Artificial Intelligence’.

Job description

The postdoctoral researcher will investigate how students use and perceive Generative AI (GenAI) during collaborative creative problem-solving. The project has two main objectives:

1. To design evidence-based interventions for each phase of the collaborative creative problem-solving process, grounded in the creative problem-solving literature; and
2. To examine how students with and without these interventions use GenAI in each phase of the collaborative creative problem-solving process, and their views on GenAI as a (potential) teammate in creative problem-solving.

Tasks and responsibilities.

The postdoctoral researcher will:

• Conduct a literature review on evidence-based strategies and interventions that support each phase of the creative problem-solving process; 
• Design and implement interventions to support students’ collaborative creative problem-solving with GenAI;
• Collect and analyze data from students on their perception (e.g., via interviews, surveys) and use of GenAI (e.g., through video recordings, cued-retrospective reporting);
• Publish in leading international scientific journals and present them at (inter)national conferences;
• The postdoc will also be involved in teaching (10%-30% of your time) in our bachelor and master programs Educational Sciences and Educational Psychology, and supervision of Bachelor and Master students.

Job requirements

We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher:

• Who holds a PhD in Educational Sciences, Educational Psychology, or a related discipline;
• Who has experience with creativity and/or collaborative interaction research;
• Who has experience with human-AI interaction research;
• Who has experience with mixed-methods research (quantitative-qualitative research methods), preferably including design-based research;
• Who has a relevant publication record and/or the ambition and skills to lead international scientific publications, preferably in leading peer-reviewed journals;
• Who has both a proficiency in Dutch and English (written and oral).

Employment conditions and benefits

We offer you an internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with excellent working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU).

The start date of this position is 01 april 2026 and you will be based at Campus Woudestein, Rotterdam in Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB). This position is for 0.7fte. The salary is  € 4.728 gross per month Scale 11 on a fulltime basis (38 hours), in accordance with the CAO-NU. The contract is offered for a period of 1 year and can be extended for another year if (financial and/or organizational) circumstances remain the same.

Everything else we offer you; you can find below!

- Everything you need for a good work-life balance: the option to work from home in consultation with your manager, 41 days of paid leave with a 40 hour contract, 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a significant discount on a subscription for our on-campus sports centre!

- Sustainable, inclusive and diverse work environment with an open culture, where you can be yourself and we pay attention to each other and to the world around us. Make the most of our bicycle budget, or join networks such as Young@EUR, FAME or QuEUR.

- Time and space for your development in the broadest sense: development days and a personal career budget and free access to our university library.

- Good pension with ABP that EUR contributes 2/3rds towards, discounts on various collective insurances with Zilveren Kruis Achmea, Loyalis, and Allianz, and compensation for travel, working from home and home internet use.

- Are you currently combining your job with parenthood, or do you want to do so in the future? EUR offers partially paid parental leave and fully paid additional birth leave for partners, and our campus features a daycare (daycare not paid for by EUR).

- Moving to the Netherlands for your job with EUR? Then you may be eligible for the 30%-ruling if you meet the requirements of the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax agency), and with our Dual Career Programme we will also help your partner find the right job for them.

Employer

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 4.100 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.

Faculty / Institute / Central service

Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB)
The Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences is home to a vast diversity of scientific disciplines: public administration, pedagogical sciences, psychology and sociology. In addition, the Erasmus University College, IHS, and two research institutes RISBO and DRIFT are linked to the faculty. This also reflects in the content of the (international) bachelor's and master's programs and in research.  Our activities are always focused on people and society. At the ESSB fundamental, internationally oriented research is of paramount importance. In addition, social research for professionals, policy makers, and the society is part of our research activities. ESSB offers a stimulating research environment where major national and international research grants are received. Appealing guest researchers and ambitious PhD candidates come along to conduct their research. Our education is small-scale and works with innovative forms of education. Both the Dutch and English programs are highly ranked by students and alumni. ESSB is home to over 4000 students and more than 400 staff-members. The different disciplines are supported by the Faculty Office (for more information, please visit www.eur.nl/essb)..

Group

Our department consists of seven teams and encompasses the disciplines of Psychology, Education Sciences, and Pedagogical Sciences—three closely related fields, each with its own distinct profile.

The various psychological specializations within DPECS focus on understanding cognitive, physical, and social functioning and well-being in the context of mental health, education, and work. Education sciences address questions related to effectiveness and inclusion in primary, secondary, and tertiary education. Pedagogical sciences focus on issues related to both everyday and problematic development and upbringing within families, schools, and youth care.

The disciplinary perspectives within DPECS complement one another and share a mission to generate social impact through scientifically rigorous research on current societal challenges, employing innovative methods and techniques, as well as open science practices.

The bachelor’s and master’s programs offered by DPECS build upon this mission, preparing students to become scientifically trained professionals equipped to serve the society of the future.

More information about research at DPECS can be found here:

https://www.eur.nl/en/essb/information/researchers/lab-society

More information about DPECS educational programs can be found here:

https://www.eur.nl/essb/onderwijs

Our department also has access to an excellent laboratory for both research and educational purposes. The Erasmus Behavioural Lab offers outstanding facilities, including video observation, EEG, eye-tracking, virtual reality, experience sampling, and biofeedback:

https://www.eur.nl/essb/informatie-voor/onderzoekers/erasmus-behavioural-lab

Department

Team Educational Sciences

The Educational Sciences team focuses on developing theoretical and practical applications regarding effective, innovative and inclusive environments for lifelong learning. The focus is on the cognitive and psychosocial processes contributing to effective learning and how this knowledge can be used to design innovative and effective learning environments and instructions.

Our team provides education in the bachelor's programs Psychology and Educational Sciences and the master's specializations Educational Sciences, Educational Psychology, Psychology of the Digital Media, and the Educational Master Primary Education (EMPO). We attach great importance to creating societal impact through our research and education and are constantly looking for the connection between theory and practice.

For more information, please visit our website.

Applying

Application

The application should include a:

• Cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position.
• Curriculum vitae, including the contact information of three references.
• A statement of research intent, outlining your proposed theoretical and methodological approach to answer the central research question (500-800 words)

Please submit your application before the vacancy closing date.

The selection procedure consists of 2 interviews. Interviews are expected to be held in the week of the 5.

You can find more information about the EUR on our website www.eur.nl. For more information about this vacancy, please contact dr. Kim van Broekhoven via vanbroekhoven@essb.eur.nl.

We look forward to receiving your application.

Persons of all gender identities or expressions, sexual orientations, religions, ethnicities, ages, neurodiversities, functional impairments, citizenships, or any other aspect are welcome to apply and join the EUR community.