Opportunities

op·por·tu·ni·ties

Fellowships, Assistantships and Internships at the Internet Observatory
Election Integrity Partnership Undergraduate Research Assistants
  • Election Integrity Partnership Undergraduate Research Assistants
  • Election Integrity Partnership Graduate Research Assistants
  • Tech Team Research Assistant Positions
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship

Election Integrity Partnership Undergraduate Research Assistants

This fall, the Stanford Internet Observatory is seeking paid undergraduate research assistants to support the Election Integrity Partnership’s (EIP) work around the 2022 midterm election. EIP is a project in collaboration with the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public that detects and analyzes online rumors that interfere with election procedures or delegitimize election results. EIP focuses on content intended to suppress voting, reduce participation, and confuse voters as to the election process or delegitimize election results without evidence. This online misinformation comes amidst ongoing voter suppression and systemic disenfranchisement efforts in states around the country. 

Research assistants will work in teams using social listening tools to observe online discourse in real-time. RAs will bring language or topical expertise to the assessment of election-based rumors, drafting summary analyses of new narratives. RAs with a technical background (data science, computer science, statistics) may contribute to analyses, visualizations and dashboards on large social media datasets. 

Desired skills:

  • Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) or journalistic experience

  • Social media proficiency

  • Strong writing skills

  • Proficiency in Spanish, Chinese or Vietnamese is a plus.   

  • Data science skills (Pandas, matplotlib, SQL, or equivalent) is a plus.

This is a highly collaborative project. All RAs must be available for 8-15 hours per week and will work on a set schedule with their team throughout the quarter. Given the time commitment for this position, we do not recommend students apply who plan to have other on-campus employment during Fall quarter, or who plan to be away from Stanford Campus. RAs must be available until December 5 with a break for Thanksgiving recess. Additionally, there will be a remote orientation week. Pay will be competitive to other on-campus research opportunities. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to Dan Bateyko (dbateyko@stanford.edu)

Apply

Election Integrity Partnership Graduate Research Assistants

This fall, the Stanford Internet Observatory is seeking 4-5 paid graduate research assistants in policy and technology roles to support the Election Integrity Partnership’s (EIP) work around the 2022 midterm election. EIP is a project in collaboration with the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public that detects and analyzes online rumors that interfere with election procedures or delegitimize election results. EIP focuses on content intended to suppress voting, reduce participation, and confuse voters as to the election process or delegitimize election results without evidence. This online misinformation comes amidst ongoing voter suppression and systemic disenfranchisement efforts in states around the country. 

  • Research assistants with a technical background (data science, computer science, statistics) will work with SIO's technical lead to develop social listening tooling; build out our automated data ingests; and visualize large social media datasets.
  • Research assistants with a policy background will work to surface instances of elections-related rumors on social media, provide critical feedback on analysis workflows, and write briefs on themes in election rumors.

This is a paid 50% graduate student RAship. RA salary covers 20 hours of work per week and 10 units of graduate tuition. We ask RAs to be available until December 15. 

We will have a separate call for undergraduates interested in working as research assistants on the Election Integrity Partnership soon. To register your interest now, please email Dan Bateyko (dbateyko@stanford.edu) 

If you have any questions, please reach out to Dan Bateyko (dbateyko@stanford.edu)

Apply

Tech Team Research Assistant Positions

(Undergraduate or Graduate, hourly 8-15 hrs/week)

SIO Tech RAs work together to build out the technical infrastructure used by all SIO researchers. Working on sprint cycles, the RAs will learn to release code, seek feedback from researchers, and use their creativity to design and implement new tools.

Desired Skills:

  • Python
  • R
  • Basic data science skills
  • Experience with GCP
  • Familiarity with at least one foreign language
Apply

Postdoctoral Fellowship

Stanford Internet Observatory Fellows will pursue research on policy and technical issues related to Stanford’s research into the misuse of new technologies to cause harm to individuals and societies. Research focus areas may include studying current geopolitical events driven by information operations against elections, researching the use of communication platforms to cause harm to at-risk groups, designing strategies to mitigate the harm of new technologies, and developing regulatory and governance frameworks for tech companies and governments. Fellows will be housed at the Cyber Policy Center and will be a part of the larger fellowship program at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University. All SIO fellows are expected to participate in Cyber Policy Center research seminars and produce policy-relevant work, which could include media appearances, published articles, or briefings to or workshops for government or international organization officials, ideally in collaboration with researchers from other disciplines. Fellows with backgrounds in the natural sciences, engineering, data science, social sciences, history, and law are encouraged to apply. All fellows are expected to be in the final stages of or have recently completed a terminal degree in their discipline, ideally a Ph.D.

Application Details

Submission of a formal application is required for all individuals who wish to be in residence as visiting fellows, whether they need funding or have independent support. Applications are run in partnership with the CISAC Fellowship Program.

All application materials, including recommendations, must be in English. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all materials, including letters of reference, are submitted by the deadline stated above. Please do not submit supplemental materials such as books, lengthy manuscripts, or more than the required number of recommendations.

Online submission of application must include:

  • Completed online application form
  • Resume/CV
  • Graduate school transcript (Unofficial transcripts are acceptable. All pre- and postdoctoral applicants must include a transcript. Junior faculty and professionals may include a transcript, but are not required to do so.)
  • Research project prospectus or description of dissertation (1,500 words max, not including footnotes/endnotes)
  • Research abstract (200 words max)
  • Writing sample (50 pages max)
  • Three confidential letters of recommendation. Please note that recommendation letter services, such as Interfolio, may not use our online recommendation letter submission system. Please advise your recommenders to upload their letters directly to the SlideRoom system.

 

Online Application Instructions

  1. Access application portal by selecting link below. 
  2. Click "Sign up to get started" (at the bottom of the page). Input the requested information to create a username and password.
  3. Click "Stanford University Center for International Security and Cooperation Fellowship Program".
  4. Proceed through the application, entering information into all required fields.
  5. Submit your application.

 

We are not currently accepting applications. Applications for the 2023-2024 academic year will be due in December 2022.