We are looking for a PhD student who will participate in the iBOF project "How do international migration and internal mobility of migrants shape local populations? Developing a spatial microsimulation model of population dynamics with application in infectious disease modelling (DynaMIGs)”. DynaMIGs is a four-year interdisciplinary project funded by iBOF, starting in October 2025. International migration has gained considerable importance in the demography of European societies in recent decades. However, the long-term implications of migration for population dynamics—across various geographical levels—remain difficult to ascertain. This is largely due to the continued reliance on aggregate-level measures and models that fail to adequately capture migrants’ life courses in receiving countries. By leveraging population-wide longitudinal microdata on migrants (and their descendants) spanning several decades, DynaMIGs aims to analyse the association between life course transitions and spatial mobility in migrant populations at the individual and household levels. In keeping with individual-based modelling in biostatistics, hazard models of life course transitions in migrant populations will be integrated into a dynamic microsimulation model. This model will, in turn, inform infectious disease transmission models that account for population heterogeneity by migrant background, thereby enabling more accurate projections of disease dynamics and disease burden in different segments of the population.
You will join the DynaMIGs-team, coordinated by prof. Karel Neels (Department of Sociology, University of Antwerp) and principal investigators Sylvie Gadeyne (VUB, BRISPO, Interface Demography) and prof. Niel Hens ( University Hasselt, Data Science Institute). Besides the project leaders, the Dynamigs team includes several senior and postdoc researchers.
As a part of this project, you will conduct quantitative research on demographic behaviour of migrant communities in Belgium, focusing on mobility patterns (internal migration), family transitions and mortality using administrative datasets. The findings will be published in scientific journals and culminate in a doctoral dissertation in Sociology. You will join Prof. Sylvie Gadeyne’s research team at Interface Demography at BRISPO-VUB and are expected to interact closely and constructively with all team members.
For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base.
What do we expect from you?
- MA degree in sociology, demography, economics, socio-economic sciences, statistics or data sciences.
- Commitment to high-quality academic research.
- Experience and/or interest in demographic research.
- Sound knowledge of and/or experience with quantitative research methods and data analysis.
- A good command of English.
- Ability to conduct research independently and collaboratively.
Last year students are encouraged to apply, provided they obtain their MA degree before the start of the scholarship, i.e. October 1st, 2025.
You have not performed any works in the execution of a mandate as an assistant, paid from operating resources, over a total (cumulated) period of more than 12 months.
The VUB wants to be a reflection of the society where everyone's talent is valued, regardless of gender, age, religion, skin color, migration background, disability and neurodiversity.
What we offer
You’ll be offered a full-time PhD-scholarship, for 12 months (extendable up to max. 48 months, on condition of the positive evaluation of the PhD activities), with planned starting date 01/10/2025.
You’ll receive a grant linked to one of the scales set by the government.
IMPORTANT: The effective result of the doctorate scholarship is subject to the condition precedent of your enrolment as a doctorate student at the university.
At the VUB, you’re guaranteed an open, involved and diverse workplace where you are offered opportunities to (further) build on your career.
As well as this, you will also enjoy various other benefits:
- Extensive homeworking options, a telework allowance of 50 euros per month OR an internet fee of 20 euros per month;
- An open and informal working environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a fulltime contract), closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days;
- Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
- Full reimbursement of your home-to-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, and/or compensation if you come by bike;
- A wide selection of meals in our campus restaurants at attractive prices;
- Excellent and affordable facilities for sport and exercise, a range of discounts via Benefits@Work (in all kinds of shops, on flights, in petrol stations, amusement parks...) and Ecocheques;
- Nursery near campus, discount on holiday camps;
- The space to form your job content and to continuously learn through our VUB learning platforms and training courses;
- And finally: great colleagues with a healthy drive.
Interested?
Then apply, at the latest on 31/08/2025, via jobs.vub.be, and upload the following documents:
- your CV;
- your motivation letter;
- your diploma (not applicable for VUB alumni).
Do you have questions about the job content? Contact Sylvie Gadeyne at Sylvie.Gadeyne@vub.be or on 0498236043.
