Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine, University of Zurich
PhD Position in Ethics of Voice Assistants in Dementia Care 80 %
Start of employment 01.03.2025, temporary
The IBME offers funding for a 4-year (48 months) PhD position at 80% employment, as part of the SNSF project „GRACE: A voice assistant for improving quality of life in people with early dementia“. The PhD will be supervised by Prof. Nikola Biller-Andorno, Prof. Tobias Kowatsch, and Dr. Rasita Vinay.
Your responsibilities
We are seeking an outstanding PhD candidate to join our interdisciplinary team investigating voice-based lifestyle and cognitive interventions for people with dementia, through a voice assistant prototype.
Your profile
We are looking for a candidate with a strong understanding of digital health and dementia, who intends to further qualify themselves through a doctorate in Medical Sciences. We seek the following qualifications from our candidates:
- Masters degree in bioethics or other social sciences (preferable), behavioral or cognitive science (desirable) or another relevant field.
- Experience working in digital health, AI ethics or assistive technologies is strongly preferred.
- Proficiency in English and German (written and spoken).
- Willingness to work in a collaborative, interdisciplinary team.
- Good organizational skills, attention to detail, ability to also work independently.
Information on your application
Starting date of employment is 01.03.2025. Please submit your application by 31.12.2024:
After screening, you will be invited to an interview (in-person or online) in January 2025.
As part of this position you will be funded for the PhD program Biomedical Ethics and Law/Medical Track at the Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine.
The IBME
The institute (IBME) belongs to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Zurich, and consists of two Chairs; Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine. Since 2009, the IBME has been a WHO Collaborating Centre for Bioethics, and also provides ethical advice to numerous professional associations globally. The advertised PhD position will be at the Chair of Biomedical Ethics, in the PhD program „Biomedical Ethics and Law (medical track)“. The Chair was established at UZH in 2005 in response to the growing need for education, research and consultancy in the area of medical ethics and bioethics. The IBME is also involved in teaching activities for medical and dental students, as well as at the UZH History Seminar through the Chair of History of Medicine.