Doctoral fellow

ABOUT GHENT UNIVERSITY

Ghent University is a world of its own. Employing more than 15.000 people, it is actively involved in education and research, management and administration, as well as technical and social service provision on a daily basis. It is one of the largest, most exciting employers in the area and offers great career opportunities.
With its 11 faculties and more than 85 departments offering state-of-the-art study programmes grounded in research in a wide range of academic fields, Ghent University is a logical choice for its staff and students.

YOUR TASKS

The Centre for Sustainability Studies (CDO, www.cdo.ugent.be) is looking for a motivated PhD researcher for a four-year position within PFAROS, a large Horizon Europe project funded under the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) from 2026 to 2031. PFAROS brings together universities, research institutes, civil society organisations and companies from across the healthcare sector and waste industries to accelerate the transition away from PFAS substances in the pharmaceutical and medical technology sectors.

An important task within PFAROS is examining the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework - the European Commission’s reference framework for developing safer and more sustainable chemicals and materials - as it is applied to alternative PFAS options in the healthcare sector. CDO contributes to this task in two ways: (1) map how SSbD is understood, enacted, and negotiated by project partners and stakeholders across this large, industry-academia consortium, and (2) analyse how you can broaden these actors’ reflexivity with regards to SSbD.

We approach SSbD not as a neutral or fixed instrument, but as a framework that is continuously interpreted, mobilised, and at times contested by actors with different interests, disciplines, and stakes. This PhD is grounded in Science & Technology Studies (STS) and Responsible Innovation (RI) scholarship, and treats reflexivity not as a checklist exercise but as a living, relational process unfolding between science, industry, and policy.

Because this project runs within a large, deadline-driven European consortium, the position combines a genuinely critical research agenda with the discipline to deliver a set of concrete, pre-agreed outputs on time (including a report about ‘Recommendations for a SSbD Framework towards replacing PFAS’ and a training tool to broaden SSbD reflexivty). Within these parameters, you will have substantial room to develop your own theoretical angle and empirical focus, and your findings will feed into peer-reviewed publications and a PhD dissertation.

Your PhD will be embedded in an interdisciplinary and engaged research group that approaches sustainability issues from a critical social science perspective. Within CDO, you will join the Imagination & Responsibility in Science & Innovation research line, while working closely with the wider PFAROS consortium, including natural scientists, engineering scientists, companies, and civil society across several European countries.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• You hold (or will soon obtain) a Master's degree in Science & Technology Studies, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, political science, environmental science, or a related field.
• You are highly motivated to conduct academic research and to write a PhD dissertation as part of this project (including following a PhD training).
• You are intrigued by questions at the intersection of science, technology, and society, in particular the ways in which frameworks like SSbD are interpreted and put to use in practice.
• You combine a genuinely questioning stance with a wish to contribute constructively to the issue you are studying: you see critical research and hands-on engagement with the PFAS challenge as complementary, not opposed.
• You are familiar with, or willing to engage with, interpretative and qualitative research methods such as interviews, ethnographic observation, facilitated dialogue, and discourse analysis.
• A substantial part of this PhD involves conducting interviews and organising workshops with project partners and stakeholders, including senior researchers and industry representatives, so you are comfortable leading such conversations, or motivated to develop this skill early on.
• You can work independently and manage your own time within a structured project timeline, while staying engaged with your research questions.
• You are comfortable engaging with a wide range of actors, from NGOs to industry R&D teams, with curiosity rather than suspicion.
• You have strong English language skills, both spoken and written; knowledge of Dutch is an asset but not a requirement.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU

• We offer a full-time position as a doctoral fellow, consisting of an initial period of 12 months, which, after a positive evaluation, will be extended to a total maximum of 48 months.
• Your contract will start on 1 February 2026 at the earliest.
• The fellowship amount is 100% of the net salary of an AAP member in equal family circumstances. The individual fellowship amount is determined by Team Personnel Administration based on family status and seniority. A grant that meets the conditions and criteria of the regulations for doctoral fellowships is considered free of personal income tax. Click here for more information about our salary scales.
• All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of holiday leave (on an annual basis for a full-time job) supplemented by annual fixed bridge days, bicycle allowance and eco vouchers. Click here for a complete overview of all the staff benefits. 

INTERESTED?

Please send your application no later than 1 October 2026 to gert.goeminne@UGent.be. Your application should include:

• a CV, including your academic results;
• a copy of your Master's degree (or a statement confirming you will obtain your degree soon);
• a motivation letter (max. 600 words). Please include one concrete example, from research, work, or elsewhere, of a situation in which you had to operate within a large or complex team. Briefly describe your role, what made it complex, and what you took away from it. 
• a writing sample, such as your Master’s thesis or a relevant essay or article (Dutch or English). 

Preferably, all documents should be combined into a single PDF file. 

As Ghent University maintains an equal opportunities and diversity policy, everyone is encouraged to apply for this position.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview in December 2026. Interviews will be conducted in Dutch and English.

For questions about this position, you can contact prof. Gert Goeminne at gert.goeminne@UGent.be.