Three disciplines - one goal: The Vienna Doctoral School of Pharmaceutical, Nutritional and Sport Sciences (VDS-PhaNuSpo) at the University of Vienna offers doctoral students a scientific education at the highest level. It is the largest doctoral training programme in Austria encompassing the three disciplines of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nutritional Sciences and Sport Sciences and brings together about 160 doctoral candidates and 45 Principal Investigators. Our aim is to attract outstanding students from around the world, to train excellent scientists and guide them towards research at the forefront of Pharmaceutical, Nutritional and Sport Sciences, to provide an open-minded environment that allows for networking, and to experience a vibrant and dynamic community to carry out interdisciplinary and curiosity-driven research in the heart of Europe.

This PhD position in Sport Science is part of the VDS-PhaNuSpo International Call for PhD Positions 2025. For detailed information on the all vacancies and to submit your application, please visit https://vds-phanuspo.univie.ac.at/application/open-positions/.

More information about the doctoral school: VDS-PhaNuSpo Website  |  YouTube  |  Podcast LifeSciences ScienceLife  |  LinkedIn

Your personal sphere of influence:

You will work in the group of Ass.-Prof. Dr. Matthias Kempe, Head of Data Analytics in Sport at the Biomechanics, Kinesiology and Computer Science in Sport unit of the Department of Sport and Human Movement Science. The four-year positions can be filled as soon as possible, preferably no later than the start of the winter semester on 1 October 2025.

Doctoral project on  "Decoding Non-Contact Injuries in Football: AI-Powered Biomechanical Profiling and Fatigue-Driven Risk Mitigation".

This project seeks to develop innovative injury prevention strategies for non-contact sports injuries (e.g., ACL/hamstring) by leveraging advanced computer vision and deep learning-based pose estimation from football match footage to analyze pre-injury biomechanical patterns and joint load dynamics. The research aims to create actionable musculoskeletal models and real-time risk assessments.

For detailed information on the PhD project (PhaNuSpo#3- Kempe), information on the documents required for your application and a link to the application platform, please visit https://vds-phanuspo.univie.ac.at/application/open-positions/.

Your future tasks:

We expect the successful candidate to complete the public presentation (FÖP) and the doctoral agreement within 12 months at the latest and to actively participate in research, teaching and administration, which means:

• You participate in research projects/studies.
• You present your research findings in peer-reviewed publications and at conferences.
• You work on your dissertation and its completion.
• You participate in teaching and independent teaching of courses within the scope of the collective agreement.
• You participate in the co-supervision of Masters students.
• You contribute to the department administration as well as to teaching and research administration. 
• You become a member of the VDS-PhaNuSpo and actively participate in its activities.

This is part of your personality:

 You have a completed Master's degree (or equivalent):

• Sport Science
• Human Movement Science
• Sports Engineering
• Machine Learning

The language of the doctoral school is English; therefore English is required, German is an advantage.

Further expectations are:

• Deep interest in and enthusiasm for scientific work.
• A critical and analytical mind.
• Strong communication, data presentation and visualisation skills.
• Ability to work, both independently and collaboratively.
• An asset: Experience in programming in Python, experience in working with human skeletal models
• An asset: Experience in working with marker-based motion capture systems (Vicon).
• An asset: Experience in writing scientific publications.

What we offer:

Work-life balance: Our employees enjoy flexible working hours and can partially work remotely. 

Inspiring working atmosphere: You are a part of an international academic team in a healthy and fair working environment.

Good public transport connections: Your workplace is easily accessible by public transport.

Internal further training & Coaching: Opportunity to deepen your skills on an ongoing basis. There are over 600 courses to choose from – free of charge.

Fair salary: The basic salary of EUR 3,714,80 (on a full-time basis) increases if we can credit professional experience.

Contract: The employment duration is 4 years. Initially limited to 1.5 years, the employment relationship is automatically extended to 4 years if the employer does not terminate it within the first 12 months by submitting a non-extension declaration.

Equal opportunities for all:  We welcome every additional/new personality to the team!

It is that easy to apply:

Please submit the following documents in English as a SINGLE PDF  document:

1. A strong motivation letter
2. Abstract of your Master’s thesis
3. Curriculum vitae (CV)
4. Copies of the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree certificates in German or a certified English translation in addition to the original language, including all CREDIT TRANSCRIPTS!
5. Contact details of two referees who have supervised you in your previous research.