YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — A lecturer from UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta has secured competitive research funding from Germany’s Leibniz Centre for Science and Society (LCSS), expanding the university’s international research collaboration on sustainability and misinformation.

Dr. Paed. Asih Widi Wisudawati, a chemistry education scholar at the Faculty of Education and Teacher Training, is leading an Indonesia-based component of a trilateral study involving partners in Germany and South Korea. The project, titled “The Disruption of Fake News for Sustainability,” examines how misinformation influences young people’s understanding of climate change and sustainability.

The research is conducted in partnership with Prof. Andreas Nehring from Leibniz University Hannover and Prof. Joon Sang Baek of Yonsei University. It was selected under the DISSS (Disruptions in Science and Society) research initiative, a competitive program within the Leibniz research network, one of Germany’s largest scientific alliances.

Dr. Asih said the collaboration grew out of her academic engagement as a visiting lecturer in Hannover in 2024, which later developed into a joint proposal submitted in 2025. The project was chosen from a pool of international applicants.

The study compares two groups of youth aged 15–24: those engaged in education, employment, or training, and those classified as NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training). Researchers aim to analyze how social media exposure, including influencers and false information, shapes perceptions of sustainability across Indonesia, Germany and South Korea.

Using an epistemic framework, the team will examine how young people construct and verify knowledge amid competing narratives linking science, politics and public opinion. The project is expected to result in internationally indexed publications and policy recommendations.

University officials say the grant highlights the institution’s growing role in global research networks, particularly on issues at the intersection of science education and social responsibility.