University of Cape Town & the Hasso-Plattner Institute (HPI-UCT) Announce 2026 Fully Funded PhD and Postdoctoral Fellowships for African Scholars @Plattner Institute (HPI-UCT) Announce 2026 Fully Funded PhD and Postdoctoral Fellowships for African Scholars

The University of Cape Town and the Hasso-Plattner Institute have opened applications for the 2026 HPI-UCT Digital Health Partnership Fellowships for outstanding African scholars interested in digital health research.

The programme offers fully funded PhD and Postdoctoral fellowships for candidates from across the African continent who are working in the rapidly growing field of digital health.

Successful applicants will join a dynamic network of researchers within the School of Information Technology (SIT) and the School of Public Health (SPH) at UCT.

The fellowship supports innovative, interdisciplinary research that combines health, technology, artificial intelligence, data science, and public health to address major healthcare challenges across Africa and beyond.

2026 HPI-UCT Digital Health Partnership Fellowships: Fellowship Focus Areas

The HPI-UCT Digital Health Partnership is inviting applications from candidates whose research interests align with one or more of the following areas:

• Health Information Exchanges and interoperability
• Electronic Medical and Health Records
• AI, AI Ethics, and AI Safety in Health
• Community Health Worker and patient-focused AI technologies
• Community-driven Digital Health Interventions
• Computational Science
• Digital transformation of the health sector
• Monitoring and evaluation of digital health programmes
• Economic evaluations of digital health solutions
• Population-wide analyses of real-world health data
• Health data processing and analysis
• Data governance and research engineering
• Natural Language Processing applications in digital health
• Health systems processes
• Climate Change and Health

The programme particularly encourages research that can improve healthcare delivery, strengthen health systems, and leverage emerging technologies to solve public health challenges in African contexts.

2026 HPI-UCT Digital Health Partnership Fellowships: Who Can Apply?

The fellowship is open to applicants from across the African continent.

PhD Applicants

Candidates applying for the PhD fellowship must hold a master’s degree supported by a strong dissertation.

Applicants intending to register through the School of Information Technology should have qualifications in:

• Computer Science
• Information Systems
• Or related disciplines

Applicants intending to register through the School of Public Health should hold qualifications in:

• Epidemiology
• Biostatistics
• Health Systems
• Health Economics
• Related public health fields
• Or a clinical discipline with strong research experience in public health

Postdoctoral Applicants

Postdoctoral candidates must already hold a doctoral degree in a relevant field.

2026 HPI-UCT Digital Health Partnership Fellowships: English Language Requirements

Applicants must demonstrate English proficiency through one of the following:

• TOEFL score of at least 570 (paper-based) or 230 (computer-based), obtained within the last 3–5 years
• IELTS overall band score of 7.0 with no component below 6.0

Candidates whose previous education was conducted in English are exempt from this requirement.

Additional Advantages

The programme notes that the following will be considered advantageous:

• Previous peer-reviewed publications
• Interest in supporting teaching activities
• Strong interdisciplinary research interests

2026 HPI-UCT Digital Health Partnership Fellowships: Funding and Benefits

Successful fellows will receive generous financial support to study full-time in Cape Town, South Africa.

PhD Fellowship Funding

PhD students will receive:

• Full tuition and registration fees
• Annual bursary of ZAR 262,200
• Monthly stipend of approximately ZAR 21,850
• Up to ZAR 28,500 once-off equipment allowance
• Up to ZAR 38,000 annually for conference travel

Postdoctoral Fellowship Funding

Postdoctoral fellows will receive:

• Funding between ZAR 300,000 and ZAR 380,000 annually depending on experience
• Equipment allowance support
• Conference travel funding

Funding may continue for up to three years, depending on academic progress and degree requirements.

Study Location and Visa Requirements

Accepted candidates will be expected to relocate to Cape Town and study full-time at the University of Cape Town. International students will also be responsible for securing the necessary study visa for South Africa.

Application Requirements

Applicants are required to submit a single PDF file containing the following:

• Curriculum Vitae (2–3 pages)
• Academic transcripts
• TOEFL or IELTS results (if applicable)
• A 2–3 page research proposal
• Identification of potential supervisors at UCT

The research proposal should clearly explain:

• The proposed research question(s)
• The methodology to be used
• Alignment with the expertise of potential supervisors

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the research profiles and publications of prospective supervisors before applying and to contact them directly to discuss research alignment.

Selection Process

Shortlisted applicants will be contacted after the application review stage and will be expected to:

• Arrange submission of three reference letters
• Participate in a video-conference interview

Application Deadline

Applications for the 2026 intake are accepted on a rolling basis but will officially close on 15 August 2026.

Interested applicants should submit their application materials electronically through the official application portal.

For questions or additional information, applicants may contact the programme team at hpi-admin@uct.ac.za.

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