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Are you passionate about pushing the boundaries of knowledge and making a real impact in the development of medical trends of the future? Then don't miss your chance to apply for a PhD at HIDSS4Health!

The HIDSS4Health research school performs an annual candidate selection process. Suitable candidates are selected in a three-step process:

  1. the written application
  2. a virtual one-day selection event for short-listed applicants
  3. matching projects and candidates

Evaluation criteria for the candidates are an excellent academic record and a strong motivation for the interdisciplinary nature of the projects. The institutions are committed to increasing the percentage of female scientists and encouraging female applicants to apply. The next application call is anticipated for July 2024/August 2024.

  • July 30, 2024: Start of next application round
  • August 30, 2024: Deadline for written applications
  • End of October, 2024: Selection Event
  • January 01 (or later), 2025: Start of Doctoral Researchers
  • Winter semester 2025/2026: Start Courses & Training Program

The annual recruitment of doctoral researchers has concluded. Our next recruitment cycle will begin in summer 2025. Until then, we are unable to consider unsolicited applications. Thank you for your understanding.

Requirements

We are looking for excellent graduates holding master degrees in computer science, mathematics, engineering, physics or related quantitative sciences (e.g., bioinformatics or medical informatics).
As an international research school, we require our doctoral researchers to be fluent in English (German is optional). If you are neither a native German nor a native English speaker, we therefore ask for a proof of language skills in form of a certificate (IELTS, TOEFL or CAE) or a certified statement that the studies in your previous university degree were taught in English.

Application Procedure

  1. Create a PDF document for your application containing all relevant information and documents outlined using our application tool. Details on essential documents and further requirements are directly indicated in the appropriate scections of the application tool.
  2. Submit your application document at the DKFZ job portal here.
  3. (optional): Ask two independent referees to submit reference letters to this email address: references@hidss4health.de, or (if you already have them) send the letters yourself.

Funding

All positions are fully-funded (e.g. “E13” TVöD or TV-L positions under applicable regulations of the participating institutions) according to the public sector salary system at German universities and research centers. It means a yearly gross income of more than 55.000 € and results in more than 35.000 € net income after taxes, own contributions to health insurance, pension insurance, unemployment insurance etc.

Weekly working times are 39.5 hrs, the contract includes 30 paid leave days. However, since the German system is quite complicated, all financial details cannot be provided here but can be calculated here (sorry, only available in German).

Heidelberg and Karlsruhe are attractive cities located in the sunny south-western part of Germany within a traveling distance of around 50 kilometers. They are connected via a dense public transport network. More information on living costs can be found in

Diversity and Equal Opportunities

The provision of equal opportunities and diversity is a central concern of KIT, DKFZ and Heidelberg University. We are committed to enabling researchers to balance the demands of career and family life and therefore offer various options to staff, such as flexible working time models, family-friendly meeting times, re-entry after maternity leave, comprehensive childcare concepts, provision of Tele-offices, and in-house childcare facilities. Funded places in local childcare facilities offer full-time and part-time child-care (for example during a conference or summer school).

The networks of female scientists at the partners – “WiKIT” at the KIT and the Executive Women’s Initiative at the DKFZ – are professional networks of female scientists in leading positions. These networks are platforms of mutual exchange and aim at fostering networking among female scientists of various disciplines to improve the career perspectives and working conditions of female scientists in Germany.

All measures promoting the compatibility of career and family life are monitored and advanced by the “familiengerechte Hochschule” (family-friendly university) audit and “Audit Beruf und Familie” (Career and Family Audit) at the KIT, Heidelberg University and DKFZ, respectively.

How to Become an Associated Doctoral Researcher

How to Become an Associated Doctoral Researcher

 

Requirements

  • Doctoral researcher works at KIT, DKFZ or Heidelberg University and is not directly funded by the school.
  • Doctoral thesis is planned in an informatics-related faculty (Faculty for Mathematics and Computer Science (Heidelberg University), Faculty for Informatics/Mathematics/Mechanical Engineering/Economics and Management (KIT)).
  • The first supervisor must come from the field of data science while the second supervisor must come from the life science field. Both preferably should be involved in the HIDSS4Health school.
  • A Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC) consisting of at least three members. The responsible data science PI and the responsible life science PI must be involved in the HIDSS4Health school.
  • At least one of the TAC members should come from Karlsruhe and at least one should come from Heidelberg.
  • Admission to doctoral studies at the faculty at KIT or Heidelberg University has already been confirmed or at least initiated.
  • Funding secured over a period of at least three years.
  • Projects need to have the same basic conditions as the other projects in the school:
    • Topic is closely related to data science.
    • Excellent scientific content.
    • Interdisciplinarity and collaboration.
    • Relevance for at least one of the three research areas of the school (Imaging & Diagnostics, Surgery & Intervention, Models for Personalized Medicine).
    • Relevance for at least one of the four methodological challenges of the school (scalability, personalization, uncertainty awareness, interpretability).
    • Feasibility of the work plan and the milestones.

 

Procedure

  • Written application (in English) with research statement (use the proposal form) and CV to steering committee (mail: office@hidss4health.de).
  • Steering committee decides on proposal and has to accept application with simple majority. If necessary, steering committee can request personal Skype interview with applicant and/or responsible PIs.

 

Responsibilities

  • Organize TAC meetings.
  • Participation in retreats, educational program, self-management (Doctoral Researcher General Assembly), research cooperations within HIDSS4Health.
  • Details can be found in the GreenSheet of HIDSS4Health (internal document).

 

Benefits

  • Participation in HIDSS4Health activities/events.
  • Support from HIDSS4Health budget in selected categories (support of mobility phases, transferable skill courses, networking, diversity and equal opportunity, summer schools) but no support for personnel costs and no directly assigned material costs or travel expenses.

Becoming an Associated Doctoral Researcher

You are already funded and your doctoral research is on a topic that is relevant to the school? Apply for an association!

Supporting Early Carreer Female Scientist

Do you have interesting projects and want to supervise a PhD in the context of HIDSS4Health? Thenapply now as we are looking for early career female scientists who want to become PIs eligible to apply for projects in HIDSS4Health.

Nicole Merkle
KIT

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Nicole Merkle
Science Manager & Postdoc @KIT

Nicole Merkle studied computer science at the University of Applied Sciences (HSKA) in Karlsruhe, where she earned her diploma. She then worked for several years as a researcher at the Research Center for Information Technology (FZI), during which she also began her doctoral studies at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). She completed her Ph.D. at the Institute for Applied Informatics and Formal Description Methods (AIFB). Currently, she serves as a postdoctoral researcher and scientific coordinator at KIT, where she co-leads the Graduate School HIDSS4Health. Her research interests include machine learning, generative methods, large language models, semantic knowledge representation, and agent-based systems.

 

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Daniel Walther
DKFZ

Contact

Daniel Walther
Science Manager @DKFZ

Daniel Walther studied history and German language and literature at the University of Heidelberg. He then completed his doctorate at the Institute for the History of Medicine in Stuttgart and at the University of Mannheim in the field of social history of medicine.

After completing his doctorate, he worked as a research assistant at the FZI Research Center for Information Technology in Karlsruhe, where he was involved in the transfer of scientific findings into practice.

Since November 2021, he has been working as a science manager in the Medical Image Computing department. Additionally, since November 2023, he has been co-leading the Graduate School HIDSS4Health.