PhD Candidate co-creation skills for decolonized, just and trustworthy ai in healthcare
Welcome at Maastricht University
This PhD project is part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network Just Health. JustHealth is an international, intersectoral and highly interdisciplinary project providing Marie Skłodowska-Curie PhD Fellowships to 8 doctoral candidates, with the potential to become the leaders of tomorrow in the booming domain of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to the health sector.
PhD Candidate - co-creation skills for decolonized, just and trustworthy ai in healthcare
- Our goal: Identify essential co-creation skills and key competencies for relevant stakeholders and facilitators, and develop related training materials across diverse international and cultural contexts.
- Your colleagues: The doctoral candidate will be enrolled at the Doctoral School of the Maastricht University (Netherlands), specifically, at the Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE). The candidate will be part of an international network of top universities and renowned scholars within the field, supervised by Prof. Gaby Odekerken-Schroeder and Prof. Dominik Mahr.
AI and robots can do a lot of good in healthcare, but only if they are built with the people who use and are affected by it: patients, nurses, doctors, data teams, and communities. This PhD focuses on the skills those people need to work well together (listening, facilitation, ethics, data basics, cultural sensitivity) so that AI is fair, safe, and useful in both high-resource and low-resource settings around the world.
You will map where co-creation breaks down today and why, identify the essential skills different stakeholders need, and design training that works in practice (from simple workshop tools to digital and VR exercises). Together with a sister PhD (DC3), you’ll help create an online learning community and clear protocols so healthcare organisations and partners can apply co-creation consistently across projects and contexts.
This is an academic, hands-on, international project. You will co-design, test, and improve the training with real users, then evaluate what people learn and how it changes outcomes. You’ll also translate results into practical recommendations for healthcare managers and policymakers. Affiliated with the Department of Marketing & Supply Chain Management (MSCM), the candidate will have access to excellent resources and state-of-the-art digital lab facilities like the SBE DEXlab and the Maastricht Center for Robots (MCR).
What you do – specific research objectives
- Identify gaps and obstacles caused by a lack of co-creation skills that hinder the recognition of the public value of social justice in AI for healthcare, both locally and globally. Identify the essential co-creation skills needed for integrating the expertise and backgrounds of stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem, in both the Global North and the Global South. Determine the most suitable training strategies and content to enhance these skills. In collaboration with DC3, develop protocols that define a set of strategies and methods to build co-creation skills, to be implemented throughout the project in support of a robust co-creation approach.
- Develop training strategies, methods, content, and materials tailored to the healthcare ecosystem in both the Global North and Global South, aimed at strengthening co-creation capabilities. Establish an online platform that incorporates cutting-edge digital technologies to facilitate communication and learning among a global community of stakeholders. In collaboration with DC3, explore how this learning community can foster the development of co-creation processes and skills in the challenging global context.
- Open the above-mentioned platform to all stakeholders involved in the pilot actions, both in the West and the Global South. Test and validate the training strategies, methods, content, and materials by delivering targeted training initiatives to pilot participants. Validation will include collecting action reviews after the training and assessing learning outcomes and proficiency levels among DCs and stakeholders.
- Support the identification of conditions for the transferability of the Framework and other project outputs by identifying the co-creation skills required for application in other healthcare contexts. Develop recommendations for decision-makers and policy-makers that emphasize the critical role of co-creation skills. All in collaboration with other projects.
Expected results:
- Defined set of co-creation skills for the global healthcare innovation ecosystem
- Establishment of a learning community to foster continuous exchange and development
- Blended training approach, combining non-digital and digital methods
- Use of state-of-the-art training tools, including online communities and virtual reality environments
Indicative planned secondments - Institution, place and timing
- Altuïtion BV ('s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands); Nov. – Dec. 2026
- University of Cape Town (Cape Town, South Africa); Feb. – Apr. 2027; Apr. – May 2028
- Path Check Inc (Cambridge, USA); Mar. – Apr. 2029
Further analysis might be required, based on the development of a research project.
What you bring
We seek candidates who are driven by a genuine passion for academic research and aspire to contribute to the research project’s topics.
- Exhibit a strong research orientation and academic motivation
- Hold a Master’s degree (preferably 120 ECTS)
- Show familiarity with research methods
- Demonstrate proficiency in the English language
Marie Curie mobility rules do apply: candidates should not have worked or studied in the host country for more than 12 months in the last three years.
Desirable requirements:
- Prior experience with quantitative and/or qualitative research methods; familiarity with software such as R, Python, SPSS, or NVivo is a plus
- Strong motivation for pursuing an academic career, with the intention to publish in international peer-reviewed journals
- Ability to work independently while also being a collaborative team player in a diverse and international environment
- Willingness to engage with industry partners, research institutes and interdisciplinary initiatives
Selection criteria:
All eligible applications will be assessed by a Selection panel according to the following criterion “Qualifications and previous experience” and related sub-criteria with equal weight:
- Qualifications and previous experience (50,0 point score)
Quality of academic performance , Current knowledge and expertise, Relevant research skills, Motivation to apply, Good command of Dutch.
- Communication and Personal skills (0-70,0 point score)
Ability to design and conduct original research in the subject area of the individual research project, Excellent oral communication in English, Enthusiasm, proactivity, creativity and commitment, Interpersonal skills, Attitude to team working and in working in local and international setting, Expected impact of the doctorate on the DC’s future career, Ability to interact with Dutch speaking people.
What we offer
As PhD Candidate co-creation skills for decolonized, just and trustworthy ai in healthcare at School of Business and Economics, you will be employed by the most international university in the Netherlands, located in the beautiful city of Maastricht. In addition, we offer you:
- Good employment conditions. The position is graded in scale P according to UFO profile PhD, with corresponding salary based on experience ranging from €3059,00 and €3881,00 gross per month (based on a full-time employment of 38 hours per week). In addition to the monthly salary, an 8.0% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus apply.
- An employment contract for a period of 18 months with a scope of 1.0 FTE. Upon a positive evaluarion, an extension of 2,5 years will follow.
- At Maastricht University, the well-being of our employees is of utmost importance, we offer flexible working hours and the possibility to work partly from home if the nature of your position allows it. You will receive a monthly commuting and internet allowance for this. If you work full-time, you will be entitled to 29 vacation days and 4 additional public holidays per year, namely carnival Monday, carnival Tuesday, Good Friday, and Liberation Day. If you choose to accumulate compensation hours, an additional 12 days will be added. Furthermore, you can personalize your employment conditions through a collective labor agreement (CAO) choice model.
- As Maastricht University, we offer various other excellent secondary employment conditions. These include a good pension scheme with the ABP and the opportunity for UM employees to participate in company fitness and make use of the extensive sports facilities that we also offer to our students.
- Last but certainly not least, we provide the space and facilities for your personal and professional development. We facilitate this by offering a wide range of training programs and supporting various well-established initiatives such as 'acknowledge and appreciate'.
The terms of employment at Maastricht University are largely set out in the collective labor agreement of Dutch Universities. In addition, local provisions specific to UM apply. For more information, click here.
Benefits
- € 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, 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.
Curious?
Are you interested in this exciting position but still have questions? Feel free to contact Prof. Gaby Odekerken-Schroeder g.odekerken@maastrichtuniversity.nl or Prof. Dominik Mahr d.mahr@maastrichtuniversity.nl for more information.
Applying?
Applications must be sent exclusively in English and through the online application system indicated before January 31 2026. Applications sent through other means or in other languages (other than English) will not be evaluated.
Candidates are required to submit the following documents:
- 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://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/it/documents/curriculum-vitae/templates- instructions
- a complete academic CV in English with references to past research and training experiences;
- a motivation letter, in English, highlighting the consistency between the candidate‘s
- profile and the chosen DC position for which he/she is applying;
- at least 2 letters of Academic reference, in English or in certified translation;
- scan of the degree qualification, with certified translation in English (if the degree qualification is not in English);
- proof of language proficiency;
- scanned copy of valid identification document (identity card or passport);
- Declaration of Honour according to the template available on the website https://justhealth-project.eu/ for download;
- (OPTIONAL) Any further and relevant supporting documents (e.g., research publications, document attesting proficiency in another language).
Candidates possessing the relevant requirements may opt for applying for one or more positions. If candidates apply for more than one position they are required to submit one application for each position.
Timing of selection phase
- By 31 January 2026 Candidates must apply by submitting required documents through t online application systems indicated under the description of each position.
- By 10 February 2026 Shortlisted candidates will be invited to have an interview (also via videoconference) with the selection panel. Interviews will be held from March 9 to March 27. Candidates may be required to have a further interview to be held face to face (in this case costs of travel and accommodation will be reimbursed).
- By Mid-April 2026 Shortlisted candidates will be informed about the final decision.
- Within 10 days from the date of notification Selected candidates will have to provide written confirmation of their acceptance of the offered position, otherwise they will lose the position and the following candidate in the ranking list will be recruited.
- Within August 2026 Selected candidates will be recruited by hiring institutions.
- Within September 2026 Employment contracts will start.
The above timing may be subject to slight changes that will be – in case - promptly notified.
Maastricht University
Why work at Maastricht University?
At Maastricht University (UM), everything revolves around the future. The future of our students, as we work to equip them with a solid, broad-based foundation for the rest of their lives. And the future of society, as we seek solutions through our research to issues from all around the world. Our six faculties combined provide a comprehensive package of study programmes and research.
In our teaching, we use the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) method. Students work in small groups, looking for solutions to problems themselves. By discussing issues and working together to draw conclusions, formulate answers and present them to their peers, students develop essential skills for their future careers.
With over 22,300 students and more than 5,000 employees from all over the world, UM is home to a vibrant and inspiring international community.
Are you drawn to an international setting focused on education, science and scholarship? Are you keen to contribute however your skills and qualities allow? Our door is open to you! As a young European university, we value your talent and look forward to creating the future together.
Click here for more information about UM.
The School of Business and Economics
The School of Business and Economics (SBE) is one of Maastricht University’s six faculties. Our mission is to contribute to a better world by addressing societal problems, by co-creating knowledge and developing team players and leaders for the future.
By joining SBE, you will be part of the 1% of business schools worldwide to be Triple Crown accredited (EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA). You will join an inspiring and international environment, where learning and development is priority.
The Department of Marketing & Supply Chain Management (MSCM)
The Department of MSCM is a vibrant international group of academics dedicated to high quality research and education with a strong drive for societal relevance. The Department consists of > 70 staff. Around 50 professors (assistant, associate and full) and lecturers. It also includes >20 PhD students, and a secretariat. The Department of MSCM is committed to developing and delivering high quality, state-of-the-art education in undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programs. MSCM is -like SBE- passionate about small group teaching in problem-based setting (PBL). In all educational endeavours the department integrates research and leverages industry developments.
Maastricht University is committed to promoting and nurturing a diverse and inclusive community. We believe that diversity in our staff and student population contributes to the quality of research and education at UM, and strive to enable this through inclusive policies and innovative projects led by teams of staff and students. We encourage you to apply for this position.