Nine fellows are to explore digital technologies at SDU

Artificial intelligence in municipalities, generational differences in digital news and political attitudes and the smartphone as a digital spy.

These are some of the projects that nine new fellows will soon embark upon when they become part of a new fellowship programme at the Digital Democracy Centre at the University of Southern Denmark.

The fellowship programme will bring new knowledge into play about how digital technologies affect democratic institutions and decision-making processes, and how we as citizens, businesses and decision-makers best navigate in the digital world.

Interdisciplinary knowledge that can be converted into practice

- Digital technologies are changing every aspect of our lives, and development is moving at lightning speed. To understand the changes, we need new, interdisciplinary research that can be converted into and applied in practice.

These are the words of Claes de Vreese, professor and director of the Digital Democracy Centre, on the importance of the fellowship programme, which is supported by TrygFonden.

The Digital Democracy Centre is now ready to present the first group of DDCxTrygFonden fellows for spring 2024. The newly appointed fellows have backgrounds in different disciplines and will be affiliated with the Digital Democracy Centre for anywhere from one month to one year, where they will work on projects and issues related to the Digital Democracy Centre’s research interests.

More about the nine fellows and their projects

Two fellows with a journalistic background:

• Anna Romandash, journalist and media consultant associated with Vassar College, the Mgrublian Center for Human Rights and the Fourth Freedom Forum, with the project ‘A State in a Smartphone or a Digital Spy?’
• Peder Hammerskov, assistant professor at DMJX, with the project ‘AI Nexus: Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries Across Newsrooms’.

A fellow with a policy background:

• Eva M. Knudsen, specialist consultant at Odense Municipality, with the project ‘Artificial intelligence in a municipal context with a focus on trust and credibility’.

Six fellows from academia:

• Konstantinos Armaos, PhD student at the University of Lausanne with the project ‘SiNt: Safe Internet Navigation Toolbox’.
• Laurence Dierickx, postdoc at the University of Bergen, with the project ‘Using Generative AI in Fact-Checking for Countering Information Disorders’.
• Magdalena Obermaier, postdoc at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, with the project ‘Exploring the Role of Audience-Driven Content Moderation against Anti-Media Online Incivilities in Denmark and Germany’.
• Shelley Boulianne, research fellow at the Weizenbaum Institute in Berlin and former associate professor at MacEwan University, with the project ‘Generational Differences in Digital News and Political Attitudes Across the Globe’.
• David Hopmann, professor at the Centre of Journalism, University of Southern Denmark, with The Power Study (Magtudredningen) and the project ‘Promoting Political News and Current Affairs on Social Platforms’.
• Arnab Basu, visiting professor at the Strategic Organization Design unit, University of Southern Denmark, with the project ‘Intelligent protocol aggregator for DAO design and modelling’.

Through the fellowship programme, the nine fellows will have the opportunity to create new knowledge and develop new networks and collaborations with the Digital Democracy Centre, as well as create tangible results, such as contributions to public debate, seminars or workshops.

- We are delighted to welcome such a talented, inspiring and diverse group of fellows, and we look forward to following their projects and collaborating with them on some of today’s big issues, says Claes de Vreese, professor and director at the Digital Democracy Centre.

The DDCxTrygFonden fellowship programme will run for the next five years, and the next round of applications to the fellowship programme will open later this year.

Read more about the fellowship programme here (Danish only).