Offline-first, trauma-informed digital mental health for Tigray war-affected youth

The doctoral researcher will be hosted at KU Leuven's Group T Leuven Campus in the Human-Computer Interation (HCI) research unit. The unit develops user-centred interactive systems and investigates how people interact with information through methods including user experiance desing, visualization, multimedia , language technologies and machine learning. The researcher will work closley with the eMedia Research Lab and the Leuven Center for affordable health technology (LCAHT), creating an interdisciplinary setting that connects HCI, digital media, biomedical engineering , AI, and global health. Project TRUST is a five-year VLIR-UOS TEAM project led by KU Leuven and Mekelle University in partnership with Aksum University and the regional education, health-regulatory, policy and statistics actors. The project will co-design and rigorously pilot a trauma-informed, Tigrigna, offline-capable digital mental-health support toolkit for war-affected youth aged 15–25 in Tigray. The work combines human-computer interaction, participatory design, implementation science, privacy/security engineering and clinical safeguarding. It is support-oriented and does not replace professional care. The Selected Candidate Will
• develop a rigorous doctoral plan aligned with TRUST’s Theory of Change and five WPs;
• support formative research and six participatory-design workshops using approved trauma-informed methods;
• translate co-design evidence into requirements for a Tigrigna, offline-first/shared-device toolkit;
• contribute hands-on research and technical work in prototyping, data flow, security/privacy and responsible AI;
• define prohibited AI uses, human oversight, evaluation thresholds, failure/rollback criteria and safety evidence;
• contribute to usability/field testing and the four-site mixed-methods pilot of about 100 youth after approvals;
• analyse quantitative and qualitative evidence with reproducible methods;
• work across KU Leuven, MU, AKU, MU-ICT, MU-CHS and stakeholder partners;
• publish peer-reviewed work and contribute reusable non-sensitive methods/code/templates;
• mentor MSc students and support the Digital Mental Health curriculum; and
• maintain auditable records for research integrity, safeguarding, data governance and project reporting. Profile Applicants Must
• preferably be a full-time employee of Mekelle University or Aksum University;
• hold a relevant master’s degree completed before appointment, for example in computer science, information technology, software engineering, HCI, digital health, biomedical engineering or a closely related discipline;
• meet, or be able to meet, KU Leuven Faculty of Engineering Technology doctoral/predoctoral admission requirements;
• demonstrate professional English for doctoral research; final sufficiency is determined through KU Leuven’s authorised process;
• be able to work ethically with sensitive mental-health research and vulnerable youth under strict safeguarding rules;
• accept the sandwich structure and the fact that admission, scholarship, visa and travel are separate conditional decisions; and Essential selection criteria
• strong academic readiness and capacity for doctoral-level research;
• demonstrated individual technical contribution to software, HCI, data, mobile/offline systems, security or responsible AI;
• sound quantitative, qualitative or mixed-methods reasoning;
• strong understanding of offline/shared-device constraints and data minimisation;
• evidence of trauma-informed ethics, safeguarding awareness and limits on AI in mental-health contexts;
• Tigrigna/context competence and ability to collaborate across disciplines/institutions;
• credible plan for institutional capacity retention; and
• clear written and oral communication in English. Desirable criteria
• Android, local-first/offline-first, mesh or synchronisation experience;
• privacy/security engineering, threat modelling or penetration-test literacy;
• participatory/co-design experience;
• research with youth, health, education or post-conflict communities;
• implementation science, psychometrics or mixed-methods evaluation;
• reproducible code/data workflows, teaching or mentoring; and
• publications or other strong research/technical outputs, with the applicant’s contribution clearly stated. Required application documents Submit one complete PDF package plus any separately requested official records through the official channel:
• motivation letter, maximum two pages;
• academic CV, maximum four pages;
• doctoral concept note, maximum 1,500 words;
• master’s diploma and transcripts;
• master’s thesis abstract plus one relevant output;
• technical/research portfolio describing the applicant’s personal contribution to up to three items;
• contact details for two referees;
• English Proficiency evidence; Concept-note proposed contents
• two to four doctoral research questions;
• how participatory design, technical development and field evaluation connect;
• a minimum offline/shared-device architecture and data flow;
• the role and limits of AI, including one capability that should not use an LLM;
• safeguarding, consent/assent, referral and data minimisation;
• a feasible first-year plan and major risks; and
• the lasting capacity the work will leave at MU/AKU. Proposed Selection Process
• administrative eligibility screen;
• independent evidence-based file scoring by the joint panel;
• shortlist and bounded common assessment;
• structured presentation/interview;
• references and verification;
• ranked panel report; and
• JSC process/result validation. KU Leuven academic admission/predoc approval remains separate from project selection. Offer This is a VLIRUOS research-scholarship trajectory. The approved budget anticipates:
• AY1-S2: six months in Belgium for predoc/research preparation;
• AY2: 12 months local research support in Ethiopia;
• AY3: 12 months research in Belgium;
• AY4: 12 months local research support in Ethiopia; and
• AY5: six months in Belgium for write-up/public-defence preparation. The exact start and mobility dates depend on selection, KU Leuven admission/predoc conditions, scholarship administration, the DGD visa route and travel/security feasibility. https://set.kuleuven.be/caht Interested? For more information please contact Dr. Melkamu Hunegnaw Asmare, mail: melkamuhunegnaw.asmare@kuleuven.be and Dr. Behailu Getachew Wolde, mail: behailu.getachew@mu.edu.et You can apply for this job no later than October 30, 2026 via the online application tool KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.
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