Research scholarships

Full project title: Detecting, verifying, and countering vaccine hesitancy with AI

About the scholarship

Vaccine hesitancy, described by the WHO as a “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite available services,” is influenced by complacency, convenience, and confidence. This project focuses on the confidence dimension, targeting misinformation and reinforcing trust in vaccines through accurate, accessible information.

The project will leverage AI to tackle three core challenges:

• detecting vaccine-related misinformation
• verifying misinformation using trusted knowledge sources via Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
• crafting persuasive, evidence-based counter-narratives to combat hesitancy.

Anticipated outcomes

Within 36 months, the project will deliver:

• detection systems to identify vaccine misinformation across platforms
• verification tools that ground detected misinformation in credible external sources, mitigating AI errors
• persuasive counter-narratives tailored to reduce misinformation’s impact and foster vaccine trust
• rigorous evaluation through benchmarks and user studies to ensure effectiveness in real-world applications.

Availability

This scholarship is available to eligible candidates to undertake a direct entry full time PhD program commencing in 2025.

Students will enrol at both institutions from the outset on 1 October 2025. The location the student commences the program in can be determined in consultation with their supervisors.

Eligibility

Admission and scholarship criteria of both universities must be met:

• For University of Groningen, see admission requirements
• For Macquarie, see PhD entry and English language requirements, and graduate research scholarship eligibility criteria.

Additional criteria

Applicants must not already:

• hold a doctoral degree; or
• be matriculated for a doctoral degree at the University of Groningen, Macquarie University, or another institution.

Components

Macquarie will provide:

• a living allowance scholarship at an annual rate of AUD$38,500 (tax exempt), paid pro-rata, while the student is in Australia and a Macquarie tuition fee scholarship for the period of joint enrolment up to 36 months
• an airfare allowance for flights between The Netherlands and Australia up to a maximum of AUD$4000.

During time on campus in Groningen the PhD candidate will be:

• employed according to the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities
• paid a salary of €2872 gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of €3670 gross per month in the final year, based on a full-time position.

The precise amount can vary according to which year/s of the PhD the candidate spends in Groningen.

How to apply

Students are to submit their EOIs to:

• Dr Usman Naseem (Macquarie supervisor) at usman.naseem@mq.edu.au
• Dr Tommaso Caselli (the University of Groningen) at t.caselli@rug.nl
• and cc gr.globalprograms@mq.edu.au.

Include the following documents:

• CV including information about publications
• transcripts of most relevant/recent degrees
• information about thesis components (thesis mark, word count, weight/length in comparison to the degree overall)
• an EOI detailing their suitability for the project by addressing the required skills and key responsibilities in under 800 words.

The participating schools at the University of Groningen and the Graduate Research Academy at Macquarie in coordination with the academic supervisors will be expected to complete the selection process.  

The Global Office at University of Groningen will work with the Graduate Research Academy at Macquarie to:

• arrange official notification of scholarship awards
• invite scholarship awardees to formally apply for admission to both universities by mid-March 2025
• conclude contractual arrangements which must be in place prior to the start of the degree.

Students who are nominated for the award will be asked to formally apply for candidature through the Macquarie application portal.

Contact us

Further enquiries about the global PhD scholarships may be addressed to: