Postdoctoral Researcher in Open Innovation and Creative Collaboration in Medicine

Welcome to Maastricht University! 
Are you curious about how innovation works in the medical field? Do you have experience working in or studying medical technology companies/start-ups? Looking for great work-life balance in a friendly and vibrant community of interdisciplinary scholars doing creative cutting-edge research? Then this might be your opportunity! 

Postdoctoral Researcher in Open Innovation and Creative Collaboration in Medicine 

• Our goal: To critically explore the repurposing of materials in/with/for hospitals as a new system of care. These insights will offer new potential for sustainable practices in healthcare and help rethink innovation in this sector.
• Your colleagues: You will work in a team environment led by the Principal Investigator (PI) (Professor Anna Harris), along with three other post-docs, a project manager, research assistants, students and visiting scholars. You will also receive guidance with your work by an external advisor with experience in the medical technology sector and social innovation, and from other local advisors. Sharing research material and comparison with the other cases within this team environment will be an important part of the project, and there will be opportunities for visiting another research group for inspiration. 

The Department of Society Studies is looking for a Postdoctoral Researcher to undertake exciting research about the innovation process in the medical technology field. You will be part of a team doing research helping to address the escalating issue of clinical waste. The project is called The Upcycled Clinic: A global ethnography of material creativity in contemporary medicine (more info: https://www.theupcycledclinic.com). The focus of this European Research Council funded project is on hospitals and clinics, which have become sites of disposability in recent years. Attempts to address this can be top-down and technocratic. The Upcycled Clinic takes a different route into the problem. It focuses on creative practices already happening, involving making the most of existing materials. You will be part of a team conducting research around the world where such improvisations are highlighted due to different constraints.
In the med tech sector, recycling and circularity is fast becoming a priority area. In this sub-project you will head into spaces such as innovation departments of medical technology companies based in the Netherlands and local start-ups collaborating with hospitals, focusing specifically on examples of material repurposing. Through fieldwork, interviews and open-source investigation, you will be looking at examples of emerging Open Innovation practices and projects as well as for less-visible sites of innovation that have been important in the past such as “bootlegging practices” in R&D, where staff work on “side-projects”. Your research will home in on two case studies: 1) an exploration of what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, in regard to innovation and creative collaboration concerning upcycling and material repurposing in/with/for clinics; and 2) a case-study of your choice/interest area that relates to the core questions of the Upcycled Clinic regarding the creative repurposing of materials.

What you do
As a Postdoctoral Researcher on the Upcycled Clinic project you will specifically be involved in:

• Designing your own research project within the scope of the larger study
• Conducting ethnographic fieldwork and interviews in the Netherlands and nearby region – this includes navigating access to pertinent sites, doing on-site observations in relevant workplaces and speaking to relevant people in the innovation process in interviews or focus groups
• Publishing within the duration of the post-doc with respect to the project (single and co-authored)
• Participating in and helping to organise group meetings, events and workshops
• Participating in the creation of the project’s open dataset and website

Thus in this role you will have the opportunity to develop further in ethnographic skills, writing and teamwork and have access to further trainings as necessary and according to interest.

In sum, you will be able to do a post-doc project with considerable scope for creativity, in an exciting team project with inspiring colleagues. You will be conducting research with the potential for significant societal impact in relation to sustainability in healthcare, while working on furthering and strengthening methods in ethnographic research. 
 

Are you ready to set the course for the years ahead? Then we’d love to meet you. 

What you bring 
We’re not looking for checkboxes; we’re interested in who you are and what you bring. Do you recognize yourself in this?

All team members hired in The Upcycled Clinic project will be chosen because they have evidence of the ability to carry out or be sensitive to ethnographic research (i.e. conducting observational fieldwork and interviews with relevant people, communities and workplaces), so that we can quickly build together the more innovative methodological elements of the team project.

For this particular position we are looking for someone who is excited about doing research in a team and is willing to engage critically and generatively with innovation processes happening in the medical technology industry. 

Specifically we are looking for someone who has:

• A completed PhD (or assessment concluded no later than end of October 2026) in relevant fields such as: anthropology; science and technology studies; innovation studies; valuation studies; sociology; social innovation; economics of innovation; sustainability transition studies; health policy; healthcare technology assessment; user-experience design; industrial design; or related. If your thesis is not completed at the time of application, please include a letter from your supervisor confirming that it is on track for the assessment to be completed no later than the end of October 2026.
• Has undertaken or has familiarity with ethnographic fieldwork (or similar).
• Proficiency in English at C1 level or higher; proficiency in Dutch is considered an advantage.
• Knowledge of R&D, innovation process, medical technology companies/start-ups or related corporate settings (through working there, or studying them).
• Is willing to meet deadlines and work actively in the group towards shared goals.

Candidates should be available to start the position no later than 1 January 2027.

For the successful fulfilment of this postdoctoral role, candidates are expected to reside in the Maastricht area or be willing to relocate in order to facilitate effective collaboration.

What we offer 
At Maastricht University, you’ll work in an international, open, and engaged environment. We offer: 

• 12-month contract (1,0 FTE) with the prospect of a 1 year extension based on mutual satisfaction.
• A gross monthly salary between € 4.728 and € 4.901 (please note: the salary range in this description is the correct one and should be used as a reference) based on full-time employment of 38 hours per week. 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus.  
• 29 vacation days (based on full-time), four additional days off (Carnival Monday and Tuesday, Good Friday, and Liberation Day), and the possibility to accrue up to 12 extra days through compensation hours.
• Flexible working hours, a home office allowance, and the option to work from home.
• Freedom and space to shape your work independently and develop your ideas.
• A close-knit community of colleagues to collaborate and grow with.
• A solid pension plan via ABP, company fitness schemes, and access to various university sports facilities.
• An inspiring work environment in the heart of Europe. 

About the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS)
FASoS is a close-knit, international community of thinkers, doers, and connectors. We offer interdisciplinary education in cultural and social sciences, and our research focuses on societies in transition. Creativity and collaboration are central; ranging from European integration, digitalization, and culture to innovative educational projects. FASoS is small-scale, informal, and diverse, with room to follow your own path.

About the Society Studies Department of FASoS 
The postdoc will be embedded in the Department of Society Studies at FASoS. This department brings together scholars with a social science and humanities profile. It plays a key role in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences as a provider of knowledge and expertise in the interdisciplinary fields of Science, Technology and Society studies (STS) and Globalisation, Transnationalism and Development research. Department members across these fields share an interest in sociological, anthropological and/or mixed-methods approaches, with a strong tendency towards ethnographic methodologies. You will also be a member of the Maastricht University – Science, Technology and Society Studies (MUSTS) research programme. MUSTS researchers study the relations among science, technology and society, focusing on Cultures of Research and Innovation. They are interested in settings that are infused with new knowledge, instruments, artefacts, actors, and skills—whether in the laboratory, the hospital, the workshop, the concert hall, or regulatory agencies. They study such cultures of research and innovation in a radically interdisciplinary way.  

Interested?
Want to know more about this position or what it’s like to work at our university? Reach out to makedomedicine-fasos@maastrichtuniversity.nl. The end date of the publication is 18 September 2026.

If you apply, please upload:

1. A max. 2-page CV (no photo please) including publication details and the contact information of 2 referees  
2. A max. 2-page document clearly addressing each of the questions below: 
   o    How does this particular postdoc position connect to your previous work, your interests and/or future career aspirations? 
   o    What current connections do you have to medical technology companies/start-ups? If none, how would you go about establishing these? 
   o    If ethnographic research proves unfeasible for your project, what other methods might you utilize?
3. One published peer-reviewed writing sample of the applicant’s choice (the length of an article or chapter) 

The first interviews take place on October 14th 2026 and a potential second interview on October 28th 2026. Please keep these dates in mind. An assignment and a reference check may be part of the application procedure.   

Apply now via the button below. We look forward to getting to know you!

About Maastricht University
At Maastricht University, we collaboratively seek solutions to help move the world forward. We do this with 23,300 students and 5,400 employees across 5 regional locations, 6 faculties, and more than 70 research institutes. We encourage you to push boundaries and discover new opportunities for yourself and the world around you. Together, we can find the answers for tomorrow. 

The vacancy is open for internal and external candidates. In case of equal qualifications, internal candidates will be prioritized.

At Maastricht University, we prefer to contact potential candidates directly. We therefore kindly ask that no agencies or intermediaries submit offers or approaches.

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.