Call for applications
The Hasso-Plattner Institute (HPI) and University of Cape Town (UCT) Digital Health Partnership annually grants PhD and Postdoctoral fellowships to qualifying students from the African continent for students working in the field of digital health, through the School of Information Technology (SIT) and the School of Public Health (SPH).
Successful candidates will join a growing network of HPI at UCT scholars, and engage in original research in one of the following (or related) areas:
- Health Information Exchanges, Health Normative Standards, Interoperability, Common Data Models
- Electronic Medical and Health Records
- Community Health Worker and patientfocussed AI and digital technologies
- AI, AI Ethics, and AI Safety in Health
- Community-driven Digital Health Interventions
- Computational Science
- Digital transformation of health sector
- Monitoring and evaluation of digital health programs
Eligible candidates will meet the following criteria:
- Economic evaluations of digital health solutions
- Population-wide analyses of real-world health data
- Application of novel methods to health data processing or analysis
- Data governance and research engineering
- Applications of Natural Language Processing for Digital Health
- Health Systems Processes
- Climate Change and Health
- PhD applicants should hold a master’s degree, supported by a good dissertation. Postdoctoral applicants should hold a doctoral degree. For registration in the School of IT this should be in Computer Science, Information Systems or a related field. For registration in SPH, this should be in a core public health area such as Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Health Systems, Health Economics, or a related field, or in a clinical discipline with evidence of appropriate research expertise in a public health area.
- Be proficient in English as attested by a recent score (obtained within 3 - 5 years before application for admission) of at least 570 (paper-based test) or 230 (computer-based test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL); or a recent overall band score of 7.0 (with no individual element of the test scoring below 6.0) on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). If your medium of education was in English, then you are exempt from this requirement.
- A prior track record of peer review publications is advantageous.
- A willingness/ interest to support teaching is advantageous.
Accepted candidates should be prepared to study full-time in Cape Town, South Africa, and will be required to secure a study visa. Members of the research school receive initial funding of:
- PhD students will receive tuition and registration fees, and a bursary of ZAR 262,200/ year or ZAR 21,850/month Page 1 of 2
- Postdoctoral fellows will receive ZAR 300,000 – 380,000, commensurate with their experience
- Up to ZAR 28,500 once-off equipment allowance
- Up to ZAR 38,000 per annum for conference travel
Each member may be funded for up to 3 years, subject to degree requirements and demonstration of adequate progress. Applications for 2026 are rolling but will close by 15 Aug 2026.
Applications for 2027 close on 15 August each year for students starting in February 2027.
To apply, please submit a curriculum vitae (2-3 pages); Academic Transcripts; TOEFL/IELTS Results; A brief research proposal (2-3 pages) with potential supervisors at UCT identified (from Computer Science, Information Systems or Public Health). Please submit a single pdf file, comprising ALL the application materials, electronically to https://limesurvey.uct.ac.za/index.php/258499
Your proposal must outline your research question(s) and proposed methodology for conducting the research. We will only consider proposals that fall within the core areas of our supervisors. It is advisable to consult the web pages and publications of potential supervisors, then to contact them by e-mail beforehand to determine if your areas of research align with theirs. If you have more than one area of interest, please indicate this at the end of your research proposal.
Shortlisted candidates will be contacted and expected to arrange for three reference letters to be submitted and be available for a video-conference interview a few weeks after the deadline. Questions or requests for more information can be made to hpi-admin@uct.ac.za The University of Cape Town reserves the right to disqualify ineligible, incomplete and/or inappropriate applications.
The University of Cape Town reserves the right to change the conditions of award or to make no awards at all. The University of Cape Town reserves the right to change the conditions of award or to make no awards at all.