PhD in Computer Science

Category:  PhD

1 - Working at the VUB

For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike. 

 

At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located. 

 

Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again. 

 

Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.

2 - Position description

The Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences, Department Computer Science, is looking for a PhD-student with a doctoral grant. 

 

More concretely your work package, for the preparation of a doctorate, contains: 

Reinforcement Learning for Public Health Decision Support in Emerging Arbovirus Prevention

The Artificial Intelligence Lab in the Department of Computer Science at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is looking for a motivated PhD researcher in Computer Science to join a new interdisciplinary project on arbovirus prevention and control in the European Union. The project is led by Prof. Pieter Libin and is embedded in a collaboration with Hasselt University and Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma.

 

Project

Mosquito-borne arboviruses such as Zika (ZIKV) and Oropouche (OROV) are expected to pose increasing risks to public health in Europe. This project aims to develop a new data-driven framework to assess invasion risk and optimize mitigation and surveillance strategies in the EU. The research combines epidemiological modelling, proxy-data fitting, and reinforcement learning for public-health decision support.

As the Computer Science PhD researcher, you will lead the research on novel reinforcement learning algorithms and contribute to the joint development of the broader modelling and policy framework. Your work will focus on multi-criteria reinforcement learning, uncertainty-aware decision-making, and explainable reinforcement learning for large-scale public-health applications.

 

You will:

• develop new multi-criteria reinforcement learning algorithms for complex decision problems:
  • you design methods that exploit the geographical structure of metapopulation models;
  • you investigate uncertainty-aware policy learning;
• develop explainable RL methods to communicate learned policies to policymakers;
• collaborate on the epidemiological model used in the project;
• contribute to the study of mitigation and surveillance strategies, including mosquito control, vaccination policies, and surveillance strategies;
• publish results in leading conferences and journals and present your work internationally.

 

For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base. 

3 - Profile

What do we expect from you?

 

• 
  
  You hold a Master’s degree in Computer Science, preferably with a specialization in machine learning.
  
  

 

• You have a strong interest in reinforcement learning and AI method development;
• You possess good programming and computational skills;
• You are enthusiastic for interdisciplinary research linking AI and public health;
• You have strong English communication skills.

Experience with reinforcement learning, explainable AI, probabilistic modelling, simulation, or computational epidemiology is an advantage.

 

• 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.

 

• As a (non-)EEA national, meet the conditions for obtaining a valid permit for VUB and comply with the VUB residence requirements. More info here .

 

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.

4 - Offer

Are you going to be our new colleague?

 

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 01/09/2026. 

 

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 BenefitsWork (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.

5 - Interested?

Is this the job you’ve been dreaming of?

 

Then apply, at the latest on 01/05/2026, via jobs.vub.be , and upload the following documents:

• your CV;
• your motivation letter;
• your diploma (not applicable for VUB alumni).

 

Our application process is as follows (subject to change):

• step 1: an initial selection based on your application file; 
• step 2: a job interview.

 

Do you have questions about the job content? Contact Pieter Libin at pieter.libinvub.be or on 0473844993.

 

Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be , and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.

 

Would you like more information about EUTOPIA? Go to eutopia-university.eu , and read more about the role of the VUB in the development of the EUTOPIA alliance.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS VACANCY?

You can contact the person mentioned in the job description.