Student research assistants in Health Economics and Aging Lab

The Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), invites candidates for a new cohort of research assistants (3-5 positions) for our “Health Economics and Aging Lab” - HEAL.

The positions are for one year and 10-15 hours weekly, with the possibility of further extensions. The expected start date is February 1st, 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter.

What is HEAL?
You will join and co-shape a research team at the Department of Economics covering both theoretical and applied micro- and macroeconomics in four overarching projects:

1) “Incorporating Population Frailty in Macroeconomic Policy Models: Foundations for a New Generation of Targeted Interventions and Labor Market Policy”.
The project, funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, is a collaboration with the Danish Research Institute for Economic Analysis and Modelling (DREAM).

2) “Determinants of Demand and Supply of Elder Care: Pathways to Sustainable Care Systems” funded by NordForsk and a collaboration in a Nordic network of leading researchers in economics

3)” The Role of Preferences and Beliefs in Shaping Physician Careers” funded by a thematic call within the Independent Research Fund Denmark and a cross-disciplinary research project in Economics and Public Health.

4) “The Role of Networks in Shaping Health Inequality”, funded by the Rockwool Foundation.

We will lift HEAL together, each contributing with our own skills and strengths. You will be contributing to HEAL by preparing and conducting preliminary data analysis; supporting literature reviews; and joining in with practical tasks when for example we organize workshops, conferences and stakeholder meetings.

Your qualifications and responsibilities

Qualifications: We expect you to be a student in economics, social data science, data-economics (Danish: datalogi-økonomi), or public health, and to have a solid interest in working with quantitative data. We consider applications from all nationalities.

Personality and responsibility: In HEAL we will achieve our goals through a shared effort. You will be part of a team that takes responsibility for the day-to-day running of the research projects.

Your opportunities

As a research assistant in our group, you will learn:

• to handle and analyse large datasets
• methods used to conduct empirical research in social science

You will also experience that only as team players can we succeed. This requires:

• active involvement in all kinds of tasks, including the simple ones such as brewing coffee, booking travel, and planning team days
• your active contribution to a thriving research team

 

Strategy of the Faculty of the Social Sciences
The Department of Economics is part of the Faculty of the Social Sciences. The Faculty is a successful academic community that strives to put knowledge into action by:

• Engaging partners in the co-creation of knowledge, learning and social change.
• Empowering our students to become reflective and responsible citizens who have the vision, the knowledge and the competence to change society for the better.
• Energizing global, European and Danish communities of knowledge by innovating research methodologies and by research findings with impact

 

Terms of Employment

Appointment and salary will be according to the current agreement between the Ministry of Finance and HK and is positioned as a student-HK. The minimum wage is DKK 142,97 (1 November 2025 level). Salary will be based on seniority. 

In order to be considered for the position, you must be enrolled as a student at university level.

 

An Equal Opportunity Workplace
The University of Copenhagen is committed to its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity, and to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity etc. For more information on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, see https://employment.ku.dk/working-at-ucph/eu-charter-for-researchers/

 

Contact information

Additional information about the position can be obtained from Torben Heien Nielsen, e-mail: thn@econ.ku.dk.

Information about the recruitment process is available from HR, e-mail: hr-soendre@adm.ku.dk, please refer to ID number: 211-1568/25-2B

How to Apply
Submit a complete application at our online portal. Click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of the page to apply. The documents must be in Adobe PDF or Word.  

Your application can be written in either Danish or English and must include the following documents:

• Motivated application
• Curriculum vitae
• Other relevant material: Bachelor thesis or other hand-ins showcasing your skills.

The closing date for applications is December 31, 23:59 [CEST/CET/Danish time].

Applications or enclosures received thereafter will not be considered.