School of Languages and Cultures

2027 Summer Research Program

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Engage in a formal research project over the summer break with the UQ Summer Research Program.

The UQ Summer Research Scholarship Program offers scholarships to students wishing to gain experience working alongside a researcher in a formal research environment in their area of interest at UQ.

Each project will be offered for a period of six (6) weeks between 11 January to 19 February 2027.

Successful applicants will receive a $3,000 grant.

Participation is open to undergraduate (including honours) and master by coursework students who are currently enrolled and will remain at UQ for the entirety of the research program.

Applications will open 21 September

  1. Comparing professional interpreters’ Mandarin/English simultaneous interpretations at the United Nations with AI machine interpretations
  2. Enhancing Infection and Immunity Communication for Vulnerable Populations
  3. Pragmatic variation in Korean speech acts: apologies, thanks, and requests across regional dialects
  4. Translating torture testimonies from Indonesia
  1. From micro to macro: Exploring pragmatic and categorial practices in social interaction
  2. Mixed-Methods Analysis of Language Practices among Korean-Australian Immigrant Families
  3. Exploring AI Conversation Tools for Developing Interactional Competence: Student Perspectives
  4. Exploring L2 Japanese writing: What can learner texts tell us about language proficiency?

2. Enhancing Infection and Immunity Communication for Vulnerable Populations

Project title

Enhancing Infection and Immunity Communication for Vulnerable Populations

Hours & delivery

Duration: 6 weeks (11 January – 19 February 2027) 
Hours of engagement: 30 hours per week.
Delivery mode: The project can be completed online.
Location: On-site attendance is not required.

About the project 

Vaccine-preventable communicable diseases, such as measles and pertussis, spread rapidly and pose a serious threat to high-risk populations, including children, pregnant women, and older adults with chronic health conditions. In this project, we will identify key features of effective health communication at clinics. We will collect pilot data from clinics and communities in Australia and Thailand to analyze the linguistic and multimodal features of infection and immunity communication. The outcomes of the project will provide policymakers and health professioanls with evidence-based recommendations on how to raise public awareness, correct misinformation, and mitigate conflicts in infectious disease prevention.

What you'll do

Collect, transcribe, and analyze interaction data. Review relevant literature related to immunity and infection communication.

What you'll learn

  1. Gain skills in collecting and transcribing audio and video recordings, capturing both speech and gestures.
  2. Learn to use various software tools to code and present video data.
  3. Participate in regular meetings to share research findings.
  4. Review relevant literature.
  5. Opportunity to co-publish research findings with the supervisor.

Project outcomes

  1. Interactional recordings from clinics or individuals.
  2. Detailed transcripts of interactional data.
  3. Literature reviews that synthesize relevant research and report analytic outcomes.

Who should apply?

Students of all backgrounds are welcome. Applicants who speak Thai or Burmese, or members of the Health Communication Research Group at the School of Languages and Cultures, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Team & supervision

Dr. Sheng-Hsun Lee, Senior Lecturer, School of Languages and Cultures  

Contact

Direct enquiries to: Dr. Sheng-Hsun Lee (shenghsun.lee@uq.edu.au)