The Europaeum is an association of European universities, founded by Oxford University, to promote a better ‘sense of Europe’ through collaboration and academic mobility. One of the most representative activities of this association is the scholars two-year programme to engage doctoral students with cultural, political, and societal challenges facing Europe today. Tracey Sowerby (Programme Director) invited me yesterday to give a lecture in a session held at Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Europaeum’s students in such session were asked to produce a policy recommendation to increase citizen engagement through online consultations. To this end, I introduced the main findings of my oingoing doctoral research on how the design of online petition platforms is able to influence the dynamics of signing. This was a very enriching experience and the subsequent debate allowed us to reflect on issues of great interest such as how to govern digital platforms for participatory democracy.
Pablo Aragón 