Project description  

This PhD project will focus on investigating the use of new disruptive methodologies and technologies in healthcare using (near real-time) data gathering and data analytics, high performance computing (HPC), internet of things, distributed machine learning and cognitive computing and their impact on traditional business models of healthcare providers, industrial suppliers, and healthcare insurance companies.

What does the position entail?

Some of the important research questions that need to be addressed are:

• How will the use of promising and disruptive new HPC technologies, in particular forward looking at the very large scale (towards exascale) impact smart healthcare in terms of quality of care, prevention, costs, risks and trust?
• How can data sharing reluctance due to privacy requirements, liability issues and lack of directives and incentives for integrating and sharing patient information be overcome by the application of these new technologies and proving that sharing data is imperative for affordable care for all while misuse of shared data is prevented through legislation?
• Which new governance and collaboration models are required for federated community clouds for personalized medicine and health research?
• How will new and incumbent players readapt their business models to grow or defend their share of the fast-evolving health market and which new value propositions, based on those new technologies, will be developed for both patients and healthcare providers, that will contribute to improve healthcare quality and decrease the costs.  

The research will take place in close collaboration between the Amsterdam Business School (ABS), part of the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the SURF Open Innovation Lab at SURFsara, where expertise and experimental facilities on HPC and Big Data analytics will support the conducted research.

What will you do?

There is considerable scope for the candidate to help define the more detailed focus of his/her investigation within the broader realm of smart healthcare as described above in relation with his/her own expertise/interest. The research will require strong analytical and methodological skills as well as the ability to work with HPC and cognitive science engineers.

What we are looking for  

• Master’s degree in the area of informatics, data science, or business administration with excellent grades and a demonstrable interest in ICT, simulation and modeling, cognitive science and/or business analytics;
• well-developed analytical skills, creativity, precision, and perseverance; 
• the drive to publish in top-level academic journals in the field of health and management;
• mastery of both written and spoken English.

What we offer  

The PhD position is a fully salaried position. Successful candidates are appointed on a full-time basis for a total of 4 years. Candidate's performance is evaluated after 18 months and if positive, the contract is extended for another 2.5 years. Your salary would be € 2.222,- gross per month in the first year up to € 2.840,- gross per month in the fourth year according to the PhD-student salary scale based on the university CLA (VSNU) pay scale.

Each year an evaluation will take place.

Other conditions: 8% holiday pay, fixed year-end bonus, 29 holiday days per year (for a full time position 38 hours a week). Reimbursement for commutes up to 45 kilometers (one way).