Fully funded PhD Position (100%, 3.5 years) at University of St. Gallen (HSG)
We are more than happy to offer a fully funded PhD Position (100%, 3.5 years) at the University of St. Gallen (HSG) on Business Models for Healthy Longevity and Scalable Disease Prevention with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) Prevention as a use case. This PhD position in Management (Business Innovation) is offered within the new Innosuisse Flagship project Swiss Precision Digital Therapeutics for the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes. The successful candidate focuses on one of the most critical questions in modern healthcare systems: How can disease prevention be made economically viable, scalable, and socially beneficial? While T2D prevention serves as the primary empirical case, the research addresses a broader challenge: developing sustainable business models for digital prevention and healthy longevity within the Swiss healthcare system.
Required application documents
* Cover letter addressed to Dr. Mia Jovanova, Prof. Dr. Tobias Kowatsch, and Prof. Dr. Elgar Fleisch, explaining (a) why you wish to pursue a PhD at HSG and (b) your motivation for working on prevention, business models, and this specific topic.
* Curriculum Vitae (CV) in English
* Transcript of records / overview of grades
* At least two letters of recommendation
* Written reflections on prevention business models in Switzerland (see background material below):
o One qualitative reflection (min. 1 page)
o One quantitative reflection (e.g., cost‑effectiveness simulation; min. 1 page)
Both reflections should critically examine how disease prevention in Switzerland can be made viable from a business‑model perspective, taking into account: Swiss society and public health institutions (e.g., BAG, Health Promotion Switzerland), individuals at risk of chronic diseases, health insurers, digital prevention and longevity companies. Example background references for the tasks are available here: https://www.c4dhi.org/news/251218-phd-position-business-models-for-healthy-longevity-scalable-disease-prevention/
Your PhD Project
Developing a Sustainable Business Model for Digital Disease Prevention in Switzerland.
Key Research Focus
* Designing and evaluating business models for upstream disease prevention
* Aligning incentives across insurers, providers, public authorities, and digital health companies
* Integrating prevention into existing reimbursement, tariff, and policy frameworks
* Assessing economic viability, return on investment, and social impact
Your Role and Responsibilities
You will be involved across the full project lifecycle:
Stakeholder Co‑Creation and Field Research
* Work directly with Switzerland's largest health insurers
* Collaborate with cantonal health authorities, hospitals, and provider networks
* Conduct co‑design workshops, expert interviews, focus groups, and surveys
* Coordinate interdisciplinary partners across academia, industry, and the public sector
Health Economics and Business Model Analysis
* Perform cost‑benefit analyses, break‑even calculations, and economic simulations
* Analyze insurer data, Swiss tariff systems (e.g. TarDoc), and prevention cost structures
* Evaluate value‑based prevention and investment cases for insurers and public payers
* Study regulatory, reimbursement, and operational barriers to adoption
Implementation and Scale‑Up
* Support pilot implementations of digital preventive interventions
Analyze engagement, outcome, and adoption data
* Co‑develop policy guidance and an open‑access business model toolkit for national scale‑up
* Contribute to dissemination via policy webinars and practitioner‑oriented outputs
Academic Output
* Publish in high‑quality international journals in management, digital health, and health economics
* Present findings at leading academic and practitioner conferences
* Complete a cumulative or monographic PhD dissertation at HSG
Your profile
We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with the ambition to shape the future of prevention‑driven healthcare.
Required Qualifications
* Master's degree from a qualified university with a minimum grade of 5.0 (Swiss grading system)
* Excellent proficiency in German and English
* Strong interest in health economics, health technology assessment, and economic evaluation
* Ability to coordinate and communicate with diverse stakeholders, including senior decision‑makers
* High intrinsic motivation to work on interdisciplinary, applied research with societal impact
Desired Background
* Business administration, management, economics, health economics, public policy, or related fields
* Experience with qualitative and quantitative research methods
* Interest in digital health, prevention, and healthy longevity
"A place where knowledge is created" - As one of Europe's leading universities of economics and business administration, the University of St. Gallen (HSG), Switzerland, is committed to the education of over 10'000 students. The HSG is one of the largest employers in the region and provides an attractive and innovative environment for more than 3'500 researchers, educators and professional staff.
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