Organisation/Company Barcelona School of Economics Research Field Economics » Applied economics Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Bachelor Positions Application Deadline 23 Mar 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Madrid) Country Spain Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Part-time Hours Per Week 10 Offer Starting Date 1 May 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Reference Number CEX2024-001476-S Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No
Offer Description
Prof. Francesco Ferlenga is looking to hire a research assistant to work with him at the Barcelona School of Economics on a project studying symbolic messages in ancient religious frescoes in Italy, and how these may have influenced socio-political preferences in the long run.
The project investigates how visual arts shaped individual preferences in historical Italy. Frescoes in churches long functioned as powerful vehicles to convey ideological and theological messages, especially in contexts of low literacy and absence of media. Using the most comprehensive dataset of visual art in Italian churches, combined with computer vision methods applied to frescoes, we will analyze how religious shifts—particularly the Catholic Counter-Reformation—influenced depicted themes and how long-term exposure to such imagery affected individuals (education, religiosity, trust in local leaders).
The candidate will be supervised by Prof. Francesco Ferlenga The successful applicant should have:
Proficiency in programming languages (Stata, R, Python, …), excellent communication skills in English, strong analytical abilities, and the capacity to take initiative in autonomously carrying forward research tasks (data cleaning, summary statistics, data analysis), while keeping the broader research objectives in view.
The applicant will join a vibrant Economics community in Barcelona and have opportunities to get involved with the academic life at the Barcelona School of Economics. This is a 4-months position starting in April 2026, with the possibility of renewal based on available funding and performance. The annual gross salary is 22.020€. (reference for full-time RA)
The project is one of the BSE Seed Grants 2026, one of the initiatives of the Severo Ochoa accreditation, supported by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) through the Severo Ochoa Program: Grant CEX2024-001476-S funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/.
Required: having completed a bachelor degree in Economics, Data Science or closely related fields
Preferred: having completed or being enrolled in a Master degree Economics, Data Science or closely related fields
SKILLS-QUALIFICATIONS
* Analytical skills
* Proficiency in programming languages: Stata mandatory (R and Python highly valued)
* Ability to learn new programming languages (possibly, visual data analysis) and assist other members of the research team
* Spanish working permit (preferred)
Specific Requirements
* Strong problem-solving skills, solution-oriented, with a mentality for continuous improvement
* Collaborative, collegial and excited to work with diverse teams
* Highly self-motivated and able to take initiative without much supervision
* Ability to learn other programming languages
Languages ENGLISH Level Excellent
Research Field Economics » Applied economics Years of Research Experience None
Additional Information
Reference Salary: 22.020€/year (Full time); 5,872€/year (Part Time, 10 hours a week)
Good research and learning environment
Work flexibility
Eligibility criteria
Based on: programming skills (60%), academic background and experience with academic research (30%), language proficiency (10%)
Selection process
Interested candidates should fill this form. It has to include named as: “Job offer Title_Lastname_Firstname” with the CV and a motivation letter
Additional comments
Job vacancy advertisement is posted EURAXESS.
Position reference: SG2026-09 Research Assistant
When the application period ends, the selection committee will select the candidates that meet the selection criteria. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted via email to arrange an online
Data: May -July 2026
Remote work (preferred if based in Barcelona)
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