PhD position:Building a Decolonized Ethics and Governance Framework for Just and Trustworthy AI[...]

University of Cape Town; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 589 000 - 884 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading South African university is inviting applications for a PhD candidate in Medical Sciences focusing on clinically robust care pathways for rheumatic heart disease screening. Ideal candidates will have completed a Master’s degree in a relevant field and possess foundational clinical competence in cardiovascular health. The position requires a solid background in hands-on echocardiography and community health engagement. The role includes substantial research responsibilities, with a gross mobility allowance of €710 per month plus additional family allowances if eligible.

Benefits

Mobility Allowance of €710 per month

Family Allowance of €660 per month if applicable

Qualifications

• Completed Master’s degree or equivalent in related fields, awarded with at least upper‑second‑class honours.
• Excellent English proficiency required.
• 4 to 10 years of research experience in relevant fields.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research on care pathways embedding echocardiography for RHD screening.
• Collaborate on interdisciplinary projects in low-resource settings.

Skills

Foundational clinical competence in cardiovascular health

Hands-on experience with handheld echocardiography

Experience engaging community health workers

Capability in human-centred design

Managing interdisciplinary collaborations

Education

Master’s degree in Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Health Informatics

Job description

Organisation/Company University of Cape Town Research Field Medical sciences » Medicine Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Country South Africa Application Deadline 31 Jan 2026 - 17:00 (Europe/Paris) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Offer Starting Date 1 Sep 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? European Union / Next Generation EU Reference Number GA n. 101227352 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

DC8: CLINICALLY ROBUST AND JUST CARE PATHWAY EMBEDDING FMS AND HANDHELD ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY OR PCG FOR DECOLONIZED AND BIAS-FREE RHD SCREENING AND STAGING

HIRING INSTITUTION: University of Cape Town (South Africa)

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: January 31st,2026 – 17.00 CET

PHD ENROLLMENT: The candidate will hold a joint PhD registration with KULeuven ’ s DoctoralSchool of Biomedical Sciences (Facultyof Biomedical Sciences) and the University of Cape Town ’ s Facultyof Health Sciences, and will therefore comply with the formal requirements of both institutions.At KULeuven the researcher signs the Charter of the PhD Researcher and Supervisor and uploads it to KULoket within the first three months; submits a Provisional Doctoral Plan by month6; presents a Research Seminar in year2; files a Final Doctoral Plan in year3; and completes the remaining milestones, exam committee composition, thesis submission and public defence, normally by the end of year4, with all steps logged in the KULoket ‘ PhD Progress ’ tool.The Biomedical Sciences Doctoral School also requires a minimum of ≈ 5ECTS of doctoral‑training activities across research ‑ integrity modules, seminars (≥10h per year), journal clubs and work‑in‑progress sessions, all documented in an e‑portfolio that must be approved before the thesis can be defended.

At the University of Cape Town the candidate registers under the Doctoral Degrees Board (DDB) in Health Sciences; initial admission is confirmed by the Dean once a satisfactory research proposal and supervisory arrangement are in place, and annual re‑registration is required by the end of February on the basis of joint supervisor–candidate progress reports.The DDB regulations stipulate a minimum of two separate years of registration, a thesis of up to 80000words (unless the Dean approves a longer manuscript) and a credit volume of 360NQF credits at level10, all delivered as an original body of research examined by a Committee of Assessors; thesis submission deadlines of 15February (June graduation) and 15August (December graduation) apply.

Completed Master’s degree (or equivalent, minimum EQFlevel7 / South African NQFlevel9) in Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Health Informatics or a closely related field, awarded with at least upper‑second‑class honours / cum laude.

Specific Requirements

• Foundational clinical competence in cardiovascular health: either an MBChB/MD with completed internship, or documented coursework/research experience in cardiology, echocardiography or phonocardiography.
• Prior hands‑on experience with handheld echocardiography, phonocardiography (PCG) devices or field cardiology screening in low‑resource settings.
• Experience engaging community health workers or patient advocacy groups in co‑creation or implementation‑science projects.
• Demonstrated capability in human‑centred design or qualitative research methods (e.g. focus groups, ethnographic fieldwork) relevant to care‑pathway development.
• Proven ability to manage interdisciplinary collaborations across clinical, engineering and social‑science teams.

Languages ENGLISH Level Excellent

Research Field Medical sciences » MedicineEngineering » Biomedical engineeringMedical sciences » Epidemiology Years of Research Experience 4 - 10

Additional Information

710 € Mobility Allowance per month (8.520€ / year)

660 € Family Allowance per month (7.920€ / year) - Applicable only when the recruited doctoral candidate has family obligations according to the Marie Skłodowska‑Curie rules, i.e., when the recruited Doctoral candidate has persons linked to him/her by:

• marriage, or
• a relationship with equivalent status to a marriage recognised by the legislation of the country or region where this relationship was formalised; or
• dependent children who are actually being maintained by the doctoral candidate

Benefits are gross EU contribution to the salary cost of the doctoral candidate. The net salary will result from deducting all compulsory (employer/employee) national social security contributions as well as direct taxes.

Eligibility criteria

Completed Master’s degree (or equivalent, minimum EQFlevel7 / South African NQFlevel9) in Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Health Informatics or a closely related field, awarded with at least upper‑second‑class honours / cum laude.

Selection process

All eligible applications will be assessed by a Selection panel according to the following criterion “Qualifications and previous experience” and related sub-criteria:

• Qualifications and previous experience (0-50,0)
  • A. quality of academic performance (10)
  • B. current knowledge and expertise (10)
  • D. motivation to apply (10)
  • E. Knowledge, expertise and experience relating specifically to Rheumatic Heart Disease (5)
  • F. Equity targets as per University of Cape Town: African Female/male, Coloured Female/Male, Indian Female/Male , White Females and those with declared Disability (5)
• Communication and Personal skills (0-70,0)
  • F. Ability to design and conduct original research in the subject area of the individual research project (15)
  • H. Enthusiasm, proactivity, creativity and commitment (11)
  • I. Interpersonal skills (11)
  • J. Attitude to team working and in working in local and international setting (11)
  • K. Expected impact of the doctorate on the DC’s future career (11)

HOW TO APPLY

Applications must be sent exclusively in English and through the online application system cross-referenced in this vacancy. Sent through other means or in other languages (other than English) will not be evaluated.

Candidates are required to submit the following documents:

1. a complete CV in Europass Format in English that must highlight activities and place where the activities have been carried out in order to give evidence of fulfilling the mobility eligibility criterion (see above). Use the template available at https://
2. a complete academic CV in English with references to past research and training experiences;
3. a motivation letter, in English, highlighting the consistency between the candidate's profile and the chosen DC position for which he/she is applying;
4. at least 2 letters of Academic reference, in English or in certified translation;
5. scan of the degree qualification, with certified translation in English (if the degree qualification is not in English);
6. proof of language proficiency;
7. scanned copy of valid identification document (identity card or passport);
8. OPTIONAL Any further and relevant supporting documents (eg, research publications, document attesting proficiency in another …