PhD Student

ABOUT GHENT UNIVERSITY

Ghent University is a world of its own. Employing more than 15.000 people, it is actively involved in education and research, management and administration, as well as technical and social service provision on a daily basis. It is one of the largest, most exciting employers in the area and offers great career opportunities.

With its 11 faculties and more than 85 departments offering state-of-the-art study programmes grounded in research in a wide range of academic fields, Ghent University is a logical choice for its staff and students.

For the research unit “Physical activity and health”, in the Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, we are looking for a m/f/x

Doctoral fellow

YOUR JOB

The Doctoral fellow will be expected to:

• Report on findings by publishing scientific articles, resulting in a PhD dissertation;
• Present findings at (inter)national meetings/conferences;
• Contribute to the wider work of the Data2Action project
• Contribute to educational activities of the department and within the consortium.

The project will use a citizen science approach to increase the magnitude of the impact of social innovation for active ageing. An existing citizen science tool will be adapted and tested in older adults in order to create a knowledge base to inform business and social enterprise for scaling-up social innovation in the scope of active aging. The map will allow social entrepreneurs to identify areas of need and opportunities to scale up and grow. Recommendations will include example data stories for business planning.

To achieve this, the fellow will:

• Further develop and test an existing citizen science tool to capture social enterprises focusing on active ageing.
• Demonstrate how citizen science data can increase the impact of social innovation and social enterprises focusing on active ageing.
• Identify areas of need and opportunities and best practices for social innovation in active ageing.
• Translate the findings in guidance and recommendations

The fellowship is embedded in Data2Action,  a MSCA Doctoral Network funded by Horizon Europe [grant number 101169037] and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding Guarantee [grant number EP/Z536581/1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxuIqyOPYjA

Essential:

• Eligible applicants must possess or be finalising a Master’s degree or an equivalent degree in a relevant discipline for Data2Action. Possible disciplines include e.g. health sciences, movement sciences, digital humanities, geography, communication sciences.
• Excellent English language proficiency
• Good Dutch language skills
• Competencies: Open-minded, self-aware, collaborative, critical thinker, team player, strong communicator.
• Have interest in healthy aging
• Applicants must be available full-time to start the program in September 2025.

Desirable:

• Dutch language proficiency

Eligibility Conditions:

• Applicants do not already hold a doctoral degree.
• Applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of recruitment for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the recruitment date. Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not taken into account.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU

We Offer:
The MSCA programme offers competitive and attractive working conditions. You will have an employment contract from the recruiting beneficiary. You will benefit from a competitive salary, annual leave, social security coverage. The salary will be composed of:

• A living allowance (3400 euros per month – gross salary) which is adjusted by applying a country correction coefficient to the living allowance of the country in which the researcher is recruited. The country correction coefficients are indicated in Table 1 of the MSCA Work Programme
• Monthly mobility allowance: 600 euro/month
• Monthly family allowance, if applicable and depending on the family situation: 660 euro/month

For additional information see EU MSCA website . Please be aware that these amounts are subject to taxes and the exact salary will be confirmed upon appointment. The research project should result in a PhD thesis.

We offer a full-time position as a doctoral fellow, consisting of an initial period of 12 months, which - after a positive evaluation, will be extended to a total maximum of 48 months.

Your contract will start on 01/09/2025 at the earliest.

All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of holiday leave (on an annual basis for a full-time job) supplemented by annual fixed bridge days, bicycle allowance and eco vouchers. Click here for a complete overview of all the staff benefits

Our selection procedure is open, transparent, merit-based, impartial, and equitable, in line with the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (link ).

The selection procedure will consist of the following steps:

• Eligibility check: The Recruitment Committee will check each application is complete and that applicants fulfil the eligibility criteria described in the previous section.
• Screening: Applications will be reviewed for eligibility and suitability based on the criteria listed for each position.
• Online interviews: The short-listed candidates will be interviewed by a Selection Committee that will include the recruiting Principal Investigators. Selection committees will bring together diverse expertise and competencies and have an adequate gender balance.
• The recruiting institution will notify the selection outcome after the interview.

To apply for this fellowship position, please provide the following documents in one PDF file: cover letter outlining your research interest, motivation to participate in the MSCA project, and previous experience (studies, employments etc.), CV, Degree Transcripts, Proof of English/Dutch language proficiency, two recommendation letters (may be provided by professors, teaching assistants or previous employers) to greet.cardon@uGent.be .

Application Deadline:  Sunday 18th May 2025 (24:00 CET)

We do not accept late applications.

We are hosting two information sessions on Tuesday 29th April 2025 for those interested in applying for a PhD fellow position with Data2Action. The session will start with a 15-minute presentation and then there will be a Q&A. We are running two sessions to ensure maximum global reach. Both sessions will be the same so you should only attend one. Sign up here:

Tuesday 29th April 2025, 10am UK time – sign up here: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/011990ff-324b-4c4d-a7f0-918a57283617@c72728f7-4cca-49fe-bc49-47ab02f7a930

Tuesday 29th April 2025, 6pm UK time - sign up here https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/11bf7da0-a047-4ebb-9089-2e90c9756c45@c72728f7-4cca-49fe-bc49-47ab02f7a930

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Prof. Greet Cardon (greet.cardon@UGent.be , +32(0)9/2649142)