[Commlist] Job Vacancy: Doctoral Student in Misinformation Research, University of Passau, Germany

Florian Töpfl has a three-year position for a doctoral researcher open 
in a project on “Understanding opposition against policies that counter 
misinformation”. Are you interested in writing a doctoral thesis within 
an EU-funded project consortium of five European universities? The 
position is based at the University of Passau and grounded in the 
discipline of (political) communication science. The gross salary will 
be at least 3569 Euros. A full job description is copied in beneath.

///

https://www.sobi.uni-passau.de/en/political-communication/team/professor-florian-toepfl 


The *University of Passau *enjoys high visibility and a strong 
reputation thanks to its excellent research, innovative teaching and 
extensive international network. Around 11,000 students from 100 
countries and over 1,300 staff study and work near Passau’s Old Town on 
a campus that combines state-of-the-art technical infrastructure with 
award-winning urban design. Internationally successful high-tech 
companies and a vibrant start-up scene, coupled with a rich cultural 
heritage and Lower Bavarian traditions, lend the city and region a 
special appeal and contribute to an outstanding quality of life and work.

A three-year EU project entitled “Inoculating and coaching policy-makers 
to resist disinformation” (POLINOCULATE, project leader Professor 
Florian Töpfl) will be carried out at University of Passau from 1 
September 2026 to 30 August 2029. In this EU-funded project, a 
consortium of five European universities from Germany, Finland, the UK 
and Hungary will generate knowledge designed to help policy-makers and 
public officials effectively combat misinformation and disinformation 
and ensure functioning democratic public spheres. The *Chair of 
Political Communication with a Focus on Eastern Europe and the 
Post-Soviet Region *invites applications for a three-year fixed-term

*Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant / Research Associate and 
Doctoral Student /(Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin / Wissenschaftlicher 
Mitarbeiter)/*

position within the POLINOCULATE project, commencing at the earliest 
opportunity – but no earlier than 1 September 2026 and subject to 
funding approval. The position is part-time (75% FTE) and will run for a 
period of three years. Salary will be paid in accordance with pay grade 
E13 of the German public-sector collective agreement, TV-L.

*Your responsibilities *

  * Highly autonomous participation in the EU-funded project
    POLINOCULATE (title: Inoculating and coaching policy-makers to
    resist disinformation) involving six European project partners
  * Goal-oriented and self-directed doctoral research in the thematic
    area of the sub-project led by the chair: “Understanding opposition
    against policies that counter misinformation”
  * Drafting of sole-authored and co-authored publications in the
    thematic area of the sub-project
  * Preparation and partial conduct of 30 to 40 semi-structured
    interviews with European stakeholders engaged in combating
    misinformation
  * Conducting LLM-supported, automated content analyses examining the
    communication of actors opposing efforts to combat misinformation
    (e.g. right-wing parties)
  * Collaboration in and support for other sub-projects
  * Willingness to assist with the chair’s administration and to
    undertake teaching of up to two hours per week (during the semester
    teaching periods)
  * Participation in the administration and organisation of the EU
    project, e.g. organising workshops and conferences
  * Presentation of research findings at national and international
    conferences
  * Preparation of academic publications

*Your profile *

  * A university Master’s degree in communication studies or a related
    discipline
  * Expertise in computational methods, ideally with a focus on
    automated content analysis techniques
  * Strong academic writing skills in the social sciences
  * An open and communicative personality as well as a willingness to
    conduct semi-structured expert interviews with a wide range of
    stakeholders
  * Excellent command of English
  * Good knowledge of German and/or an Eastern European language is an
    advantage
  * Experience working in research groups is an advantage
  * Strong teamwork skills
*What we offer you *

  * An exciting and challenging research position with a wide range of
    opportunities to put your own ideas into practice
  * Ideal conditions for pursuing a doctoral degree in the
    above-mentioned research area
  * An inspiring environment within a research group striving to conduct
    internationally recognised research in the field of your doctoral
    project
  * Generous financial support for conference travel and other
    professional development activities
  * A high degree of freedom in organising your work processes
  * A pleasant working atmosphere in a city with a high quality of life,
    on a modern university campus just a few minutes’ walk from the
    historic city centre

As the University wishes to raise the proportion of women in research 
and teaching, female academics are expressly encouraged to apply. This 
position is suitable for candidates with disabilities. Those who are 
registered disabled are given preference over non-disabled applicants 
who do not otherwise have statutory preferential status if their overall 
personal aptitudes, skills and qualifications are equal.

Please send us your application via e-mail by *no later than 11 June 
2026,* including relevant supporting documents (comprising a cover 
letter of approximately half a page, two writing samples in the form of 
seminar papers and/or your dissertation/thesis, and all relevant 
certificates and transcripts), combined into *a single PDF file* and 
quoting the subject line *‘POLINOCULATE’ *to the chair’s administrative 
office for the attention of Ms Ines Aichner ((ines.aichner /at/ uni-passau.de) 
<mailto:(ines.aichner /at/ uni-passau.de)>)_. _Questions regarding this 
position should be addressed to Professor Florian Toepfl 
((florian.toepfl /at/ uni-passau.de) <mailto:(florian.toepfl /at/ uni-passau.de)>). 
Your electronically submitted application documents will be deleted no 
later than six months after the conclusion of the application process.

Further information about the chair can be found here:

https://www.sobi.uni-passau.de/en/political-communication

Please refer to our privacy policy at 
https://www.uni-passau.de/fileadmin/dokumente/beschaeftigte/Personal/Formulare_Internetseite/_VI_1_bis_VI_4/Datenschutzhinweise_Bewerbungen_ENGLISCH.pdf>

See also: https://www.uni-passau.de/en/university/current-vacancies

---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please use it responsibly and wisely. The commlist has no responsibility for any damage caused by its postings. Subscription to the list automatically implies agreement with this rule.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ commlist.org)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------