The GREEN MINDS project will establish a collaboration between the University of Milan and the Institute Paul Bocuse Research Center (IPBR) in Lyon, France, with the aim of: (i) investigating the main psychological barrier in the acceptance of plant-based foods in children 3-6 years of age, the so called food neophobia; and (ii) designing new strategies to contain food neophobia in children, a crucial factor of food waste in both home and school settings. The PhD fellowship falls under the Mind, Brain, and Reasoning Ph.D. program at the University of Milan. The PhD student will work in co-supervision with Prof. Andrea Borghini (UniMi) and Dr. Jérémie Lafraire (IPBR), in the highly interdisciplinary environments of the Culinary Mind network and IPBR, and will benefit from the complementary expertise of the two partners, combining a theoretical approach to food concepts (UniMi) and a cognitive development approach (IPBR) to better understand the knowledge gaps underlying food neophobia. The empirical and theoretical results will form the basis for developing educational programs based on a more accurate understanding of the way children think about food, in order to promote the adoption of sustainable plant-based diets that mitigate the effects of climate change and promote biodiversity. Thanks to the IPBR facilities and network, the PhD student will interact with stakeholders such as the Lyon municipality and catering companies (e.g. Elior), to test knowledge-based education interventions targeting green foods to be then applied also on the Italian territory. 

Profile

• Possession of a Master’s degree

• Strong writing skills.

• English is the main language of the PhD program and fluency in English is expected.

• Basics in spoken French is a plus.

• Interest in both theoretical and formalized approaches to concepts.

• Particularly preferable: acquaintance with themes and problems of: analytic metaphysics and/or cognitive science. 

• Preferable: good skill in statistics (e.g. linear mixed models), knowledge of signal detection theory.

Application materials

• CV, including (if applicable) a list of academic publications.

• Application form.

• Outline of a possible PhD research project (min. 2000, max. 4000 words).

• Letter of motivation. 

• 1 letter of recommendation.

For all details and to apply, please visit this page: <https://www.unimi.it/en/study/postgraduate-study/doctoral-research-phd-programmes/how-apply-admission-doctoral-programme>. 

For questions and additional information, please contact:  <andrea.borghini@unimi.it>.