Democracy

As part of the HESPRI project, academic and non-academic organisations from Europe, Japan, Chile and Kuwait came together to find out what works and what doesn’t in their higher education policies. They joined forces to develop quality indicators and improve how they communicate with policymakers. They have developed quality indicators across digitalisation, social equality and sustainability dimensions, and have helped researchers in STEM and SSH strengthen their communication with policymakers. This included comparing higher education systems to identify key tensions, particularly around gender and internationalisation; exploring how digitalisation and open science are reshaping universities; and contributing scientific evidence to policymaking processes. Overall, the project has enhanced university research, teaching, and policy engagement across Europe. It has developed tools to modernise university governance and improve the use of digital technology. By bringing science closer to citizens, the HESPRI project also helps strengthen social cohesion and supports universities in addressing real-world challenges in their regions and communities.

How do you respond to news that challenges your beliefs? In an era where digital technology creates polarisation and echo chambers, knowing how people react to different types of information is vital to understanding how we engage with democratic politics. But most of the research in this area focuses on the US, where public trust in the media is relatively low. In the INFOTRUST project, Dr. Ling Liu and Prof. Markus Wagner are broadening the scope by studying how people engage with challenging information in countries beyond the United States that differ in levels of trust in media. The two researchers are studying how the level of trust in media affects the way people process information that clashes with their own preconceptions. The researchers aim to provide a stronger evidence base for future research, as well as practical strategies for activists, policymakers, journalists and citizens to promote more informed public participation in decision-making.

Digital technologies are transforming almost every aspect of society, including agriculture, education and human rights. Although they have the potential to solve inequality, environmental challenges and governance issues, in the wrong hands they can also do the exact opposite. The PRODIGEES project brought researchers and practitioners together across five EU-based organisations and five partner organisations in Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa to examine the role of digital technologies. In order to do this, the project looked at everything from satellite imagery of rainforests in Brazil to the impact of fake news across three continents. As a result, the project was able to strengthen Europe’s position on debates in ethical digital transformation by steering policy discussions on the ethics of artificial intelligence, digital labour rights and governance strategies. This included contributing to discussions around the UN Global Digital Compact, a global framework for digital cooperation and governance agreed at the 2024 UN Summit for the Future.