PhD fellowship on the Structure and Context of Global Health Partnerships at the Department of Public Health

We are looking for a dynamic and ambitious researcher for a 3-year PhD position, commencing 1 December 2026 or as soon as possible hereafter. The position is offered within the research and capacity strengthening project Partnership for Education of Health Professionals (PEP) – a collaboration between the Department of Public Health’s Global Health Section and Centre for Online and Blended Learning (COBL) . PEP is a multi-country, multi-stakeholder partnership spanning India, Kenya and Denmark. The focus of research conducted within the PEP-UCPH project is broad, encompassing health workforce, health professions education, as well as capacity strengthening and partnerships as tools for conducting global health initiatives. The position entails close collaboration with the partners in Denmark, India and Kenya.

The successful candidate will be working at the Global Health Section, Department of Public Health in Copenhagen and engage in data collection in India and/or Kenya.

Our research
The position is based at the Global Health Section, Department of Public Health. The research and expertise of the Global Health Section cover a range of interrelated global health challenges and solutions with a strong focus on health equity, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Aside from research into global health partnerships and capacity strengthening, our research portfolio includes communicable and non-communicable diseases, global mental health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, humanitarian action and disaster studies, as well as health systems and health workforce research. We place significant emphasis on transdisciplinary and inter-sectoral research involving elements of educational-, institutional-, and research-capacity strengthening.

The Section is primarily responsible for two educational programs: a Master of Science in Global Health and a professional Master in Disaster Management, both taught in English. The Section staff also teach and supervise across the Department of Public Health and the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. The Section is a highly interdisciplinary workplace with great focus on collegiality, teamwork, diversity, and mutual support.

Job description
The selected candidate will conduct an independent research project within PEP. Specifically, the PhD project will use PEP as a primary case study to examine how global health partnerships are structured and implemented, following the details described in the project description below.

Beyond independent research studying the partnership itself, the candidate will contribute as a member of the PEP-UCPH project to capacity strengthening activities, evaluation and learning and collaboration with partners in India, Kenya and Denmark.

In addition to the above, standard key tasks as a PhD student at SUND are:

• Carrying through an independent research project under supervision.

• Completing PhD courses or other equivalent education corresponding to approximately 30 ECTS points.
• Participating in active research environments including a stay at another research team.
• Obtaining experience with teaching or other types of dissemination related to your PhD project.
• Teaching and disseminating your knowledge.
• Writing a publications-based PhD thesis on the grounds of the project description.

PhD Project Description
The PhD programme is a three-year, full-time research education within the framework of the 5+3 scheme, intended for candidates holding a relevant academic degree within the project’s subject area (e.g., global health).

The PhD will explore the functioning of global health partnerships, with PEP as a primary example. The project will contribute to the field with research on how the structure and context of global health partnerships impact their success.

Large, multi-stakeholder global health partnerships are increasingly promoted as a means of conducting development and research programmes which are more equitable, effective and sustainable. However, despite their good intentions, significant critique exists on the effectiveness of global health partnerships in practice. Without a clearer understanding of the impact of their structure and context, partnerships risk reproducing the very problems they wish to overcome.

The candidate will take a qualitative approach to research, due to the need for a deeper understanding of partnerships and their function. Data collection is expected to occur in India and Kenya, as well as through desk reviews.

Principal supervisor: Associate Professor, Jane Brandt Sørensen, Department of Public Health, Se e-mailadresse på studerendeonline.dk .

Start: 1 December 2026

Duration: 3 years as a PhD student

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Public Health, Global Health or related programme. Please note that your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (two years).
• Experience working in low- or middle-income country contexts and/or conducting cross-country research.
• A curious mind-set with a strong interest in partnerships, global health, international development and capacity strengthening.
• Experience with qualitative research methodologies.
• Excellent English language skills, both written and oral.

Desirable qualifications:

• The grade point average achieved
• Knowledge of and experience in the thematics of education, global health and/or health workforce research.
• Experience of working in global partnerships and/or international development collaborations, with a specific focus on capacity strengthening.
• Previous peer-reviewed publications
• Experience with global development or research contexts

Eligibility
If you have completed your academic education in Denmark, the admission to the PhD programme requires a relevant Master’s degree (equivalent to 180 ECTS BSc + 120 ECTS MSc). If you have an academic education from abroad, you must have either a degree equivalent to a Danish master's degree (180 ETCS + 120 ECTS MSc), or at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree equivalent to a Danish bachelor's degree (180 ECTS) and be academically qualified at master's level.

As part of the assessment of whether you meet the educational requirements, you must also achieve a positive academic evaluation and be assessed as the best qualified for the position.

Place of employment
The place of employment is at the Department of Public Health’s Global Health Section, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment.

Terms of employment
The average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week.

The position is a fixed-term position limited to a period of 3 years. The start date is 1 December 2026 or as soon as possible.

The employment is conditioned upon the applicant’s success­ful enrolment as a PhD student at the Graduate School at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.

The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the Faculty’s rules on achieving the degree.

Salary, pension and terms of employment are in accordance with the agree­ment between the Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary starts at approximately 31,800 DKK/Roughly 4,200 EUR (August 2026 level) plus pension.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD studies at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences is available at the Graduate School’s website:

Application procedure
Your application must be submitted electronically by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. The application must include the following documents in PDF format:

1. Motivated letter of application (max. one page)

2. CV incl. education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position

3. Certified copy of original Master of Science diploma and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in other language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted. As a prerequisite for a PhD fellowship employment, your master’s degree must be equivalent to a Danish master’s degree. We encourage you to read more in the assessment database: . Please note that we might ask you to obtain an assessment of your education performed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science

4. Publication list (if possible)

5. Research protocol

Application deadline: 10 August 2026, 23:59 CET
We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor.

The assessor makes a non-prioritized assessment of the academic qualifications and experience with respect to the above-mentioned area of research, techniques, skills and other requirements listed in the advertisement.

Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You find information about the recruitment process at:

The applicants will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

The University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.

Københavns Universitet giver sine knap 10.000 medarbejdere muligheder for at udnytte deres talent fuldt ud i et ambitiøst, uformelt miljø. Vi sikrer traditionsrige og moderne rammer om uddannelser og fri forskning på højt internationalt niveau. Vi søger svar og løsninger på fælles problemer og gør ny viden tilgængelig og nyttig for andre.

Kontakt

Jane Brandt Sørensen
E-mail: Se e-mailadresse på studerendeonline.dk

Info

Ansøgningsfrist: 10-08-2026

Ansættelsesdato: 01-12-2026

Arbejdstid: Fuldtid

Afdeling/Sted: Department of Public Health