Job Description
About Khalifa University<br>Khalifa University is ranked 181st in the QS World University Rankings 2023, and the top University in the UAE, with a range of research and academic programs designed to address the entire range of strategic, scientific and industrial challenges facing our rapidly evolving world.<br><br>Its world-class faculty and state-of-the-art research facilities provide an unparalleled learning experience to students from the UAE and around the world. Our research and academic activities cover a broad range of disciplines in engineering, science and medicine through our three colleges.<br><br>Khalifa University’s research relates to key focus sectors of relevance to the UAE’s strategic economic growth and the technology platforms that serve as foundations for these sectors. The University’s research priorities are addressed in two categories — “verticals” and “horizontals” — which jointly cover specific industry and sector needs, technical platforms and expertise.<br><br>KU’s focus sectors are Clean and Renewable Energy, Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production, Water and Environment, Healthcare, Aerospace, and Supply Chain and Logistics. Research in these sectors is enhanced by our research platforms of Robotics, AI and Data Science, Information and Communication Technologies, and Advanced Materials and Manufacturing as well as Fundamental Sciences.<br><br><br>Position Overview<br>KU is seeking a highly motivated Post-doctoral Fellow to work on a new project to explore the historical development of health services and public health in the UAE and broader Gulf region.<br><br>In order to understand and develop a better future for health and social development in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the UAE and the wider region, it is necessary to understand how we have got to where we are. The economic and human capital transformation of the UAE over the past half-century is very well known. In 1950, for example, around one-fifth of all newborn babies died before reaching their first birthday. By 1975 this had fallen to 5%, and is now one of the lowest in the world at around 0.5%. However, while these headline figures of change in social and, in particular, health circumstances are widely known, there is currently only very little understanding of how these changes came about. In this project, we propose to write, for the first time, a history of social development in the UAE and the broader region, with a special focus on the development of the public health system.<br><br><br>There are many narrative histories written of the UAE and the broader region. However, in each case there is a strong focus on political developments, or other sectoral changes (e.g. military and police development There has yet been no systematic analysis or exploration of the development of the health/public health system in the region.<br><br>A postdoctoral researcher is required to search, and analyze relevant historical documents in regional and international archives; and to perform triangulation interviews with relevant parties.