近日，国家留学基金管理委员会公布2025-2026年度国家优秀自费留学生奖学金获奖名单。欧逸帆荣获国家优秀自费留学生奖学金，成为2025-2026年度比利时唯一获得该奖项的社会科学领域中国留学人员。
国家优秀自费留学生奖学金由教育部批准设立、国家留学基金管理委员会组织实施，被广泛视为海外中国博士生和博士后群体能够获得的最高荣誉。除公派留学群体，所有获得欧盟科研项目、大学奖学金、玛丽·居里学者计划（Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Actions）、导师科研项目及其他各类奖学金或研究经费资助的中国博士生和博士后，只要符合相关申请条件，均可参与评选。该奖项具有鲜明的“优中选优”特点。全球每年奖励人数仅为600名，比利时地区平均每年获奖人数通常仅为个位数。
据悉，国家优秀自费留学生奖学金颁奖典礼将于今年秋季在中国驻比利时大使馆举行，获奖者及其导师将受邀出席。
从剑桥启程，关注数字时代的“人”
欧逸帆对于数字用户（Digital Users）的研究始于剑桥大学攻读硕士期间。在社会学家、媒体与传播学者John B. Thompson教授的启发下，她开始关注数字平台、平台资本主义（Platform Capitalism）以及数字时代用户行为，并在硕士论文中首次聚焦数字用户研究。
扎根比利时科研，探索人工智能赋能健康传播
在比利时安特卫普大学，她进一步将这一研究方向拓展至健康传播（Health Communication）领域，围绕社交媒体用户心理健康、数字行为与健康传播开展研究，综合运用人工智能（AI）、自然语言处理（NLP）、大语言模型（LLMs）和计算社会科学等前沿方法，探索数字平台如何影响公众健康行为，以及人工智能如何更有效地促进公众心理健康与数字福祉。
谈及此次获奖，欧逸帆表示，这份荣誉凝聚着导师团队长期以来的悉心培养。第一导师、健康传播学者Gert-Jan de Bruijn教授长期从事健康行为研究，在研究设计、统计分析、学术写作和科研训练方面给予她严谨而系统的指导；第二导师、健康传播学者Peter J. Schulz教授则鼓励她坚持以人为中心，将健康传播、人工智能与数字平台研究有机结合，关注数字时代公众心理健康和社会福祉。
连接学术与实践，让科研创造社会价值
除了科研工作，欧逸帆还拥有七年以上大学教学经验，长期参与高管教育（Executive Education）及企业培训，在领导力、组织沟通、数字化转型和创新管理等领域开展教学实践，并积极探索健康传播与消费者行为研究成果在企业管理和数字商业中的应用，希望推动科研成果真正服务社会、服务产业。
她认为，人工智能的发展不仅需要技术突破，更需要理解数字时代真实的人类需求。因此，她始终坚持将数字用户作为研究核心，希望通过跨学科研究促进公众健康、消费者福祉以及数字社会的可持续发展。
以开放合作促进中欧学术交流
“科学研究没有国界，但能够连接不同国家、文化和学科之间的合作。”作为长期在欧洲学习、研究和工作的中国青年学者，欧逸帆希望进一步推动中国与欧洲高校、科研机构及企业在人工智能、健康传播、数字创新和高管教育等领域开展更深入合作，促进科研成果转化与产业实践融合，努力成为连接中欧学术交流与创新合作的重要桥梁。
The China Scholarship Council (CSC) recently announced the recipients of the 2025-2026 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad. Yifan Ou received the award, becoming the only Chinese student or scholar in the social sciences in Belgium to receive this distinction in 2025- 2026.
Approved by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China and administered by the China Scholarship Council, the Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad is widely regarded as one of the highest honors available to Chinese doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers overseas. In addition to government-sponsored students and scholars, Chinese PhD students and postdoctoral researchers supported by European Union research programmes, university scholarships, the Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Actions, supervisors’ research projects, or other forms of scholarship and research funding are eligible to apply, provided that they meet the relevant requirements.
The award is highly selective and recognizes the most outstanding candidates from an already exceptional pool of applicants. Only 600 recipients are selected worldwide each year, while the number of awardees in Belgium is typically limited to single digits.
The award ceremony is expected to take place this autumn at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Belgium. Award recipients and their academic supervisors will be invited to attend.
From Cambridge Onward: Putting People at the Heart of the Digital Age
Yifan Ou’s research on digital users began during her master’s studies at the University of Cambridge. Inspired by sociologist and media and communication scholar Professor John B. Thompson, she developed an interest in digital platforms, platform capitalism, and user behavior in the digital age. Her master’s dissertation marked her first focused exploration of digital users.
Advancing AI-Enabled Health Communication from Belgium
At the University of Antwerp, Yifan Ou further extended this line of research into the field of health communication. Her work focuses on social media users’ mental health, digital behavior, and health communication, drawing on cutting-edge approaches including artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP), large language models (LLMs), and computational social science. Through this interdisciplinary research, she explores how digital platforms shape public health behaviors and how AI can be leveraged to promote mental health and digital well-being more effectively.
Reflecting on the award, Ou attributed the honor to the long-standing guidance and support of her supervisory team. Her first supervisor, Professor Gert-Jan de Bruijn, a leading scholar in health communication and health behavior, has provided rigorous and systematic mentorship in research design, statistical analysis, academic writing, and scholarly training. Her co-supervisor, Professor Peter J. Schulz, a distinguished health communication scholar, has encouraged her to maintain a human-centered perspective by integrating health communication, artificial intelligence, and digital platform research to address public mental health and social well-being in the digital age.
Bridging Academia and Practice to Create Social Impact through Research
Alongside her research, Yifan Ou has more than seven years of university teaching experience. She has been extensively involved in executive education and corporate training, teaching in areas including leadership, organizational communication, digital transformation, and innovation management. She also actively explores how research findings in health communication and consumer behavior can be applied to corporate management and digital business, with the aim of ensuring that academic research delivers tangible value to society and industry.
In her view, advances in artificial intelligence require not only technological breakthroughs but also a deeper understanding of people’s real needs in the digital age. She therefore continues to place digital users at the heart of her research, seeking to promote public health, consumer well-being, and the sustainable development of digital society through interdisciplinary scholarship.
Fostering China–Europe Academic Exchange through Open Collaboration
"Scientific research knows no borders, but it has the power to connect people, cultures, and disciplines across them."
As a Chinese scholar who has studied, conducted research, and worked in Europe for many years, Yifan Ou hopes to further strengthen collaboration between Chinese and European universities, research institutions, and industry partners in areas such as artificial intelligence, health communication, digital innovation, and executive education. By promoting the translation of research into real-world applications and fostering closer integration between academic discovery and industrial practice, she aspires to serve as a bridge for academic exchange and innovation cooperation between China and Europe.
