LSE students: do you enjoy doing research and want to make an impact on society? Are you asking yourself how to engage with civic issues in your career?

I spoke to Sophie Pornschlegel, an LSE European Institute alumna, who now works as a senior policy analyst at the European Policy Centre (EPC) in Brussels. There, she also is project leader of Connecting Europe, which connects civil society actors with EU decision-makers. In this post, Sophie shares with us how she engages with civic issues and why that is so important, how LSE helped her find her passion, and her top tips for current students and graduates.

Sophie Pornschlegel. Image copyright: Frederike van der Straeten.

What is Connecting Europe?

Connecting Europe is a project that focuses on bringing civil society voices to Brussels. It was initiated by EPC and Stiftung Mercator, a German foundation, with the idea to connect civil society actors like academic research projects, local activists, and think tanks that work across Europe to make sure that their voices are heard in Brussels. This is also useful for the EPC: through these diverse debates, new ideas and new perspectives are brought in to ensure that civil society has a strong voice in EU decision-making.

How does the project engage with civic issues?

Practically speaking, we facilitate a lot of joint events with Connecting Europe. As the EPC has a huge network mostly of EU institutions, but also other actors such as associations or think tanks, we want to create a platform for debates and ideas. We also translate academic papers in policy research, for instance, into something more digestible for decision-makers.

What is currently going wrong in European policymaking and how can engaging with civic issues help to inform policy?

While there are many corporate interest representations with a lot of financial resources, it’s much harder for the civic sector. Civil society encompasses a lot of associations and organizations in lots of different sectors. One of the issues is that its diversity can prevent civil society from getting appropriate interest representation in Brussels.

It’s important to showcase how EU institutions can better listen to those voices to make sure to include them in policy debates. Often, civil society actors might not be the usual suspects to ask. However, they can be affected by legislation you wouldn’t expect. Just one example: antiterrorism legislation had a huge effect on civil society, with national application used to restrict civic spaces. I think the EU needs to be more aware of this. We try to give civil society a seat at the table because it has not been done enough yet.

What hurdles did you have to overcome to follow your dream?

I would consider myself a typical think tanker. I’ve worked in think tanks for about five years now, but it wasn’t a clear trajectory: I remember sitting in the LSE Library and looking through Career Hub, checking the names of all the think tanks I could apply for. I knew that I wanted to work for think tanks and thought it was interesting to do policy advice. I applied to a lot of think tanks, but I didn’t get in. After graduating from the LSE, I first worked as a consultant in the energy sector. But for me, that wasn’t political and intellectual enough. It was only through consultancy and building a think tank with a few friends that I managed to get into the sector.

How has your time at LSE helped you understand your passion?

The European Institute helped me understand that Brussels is the place to be for the kind of work I wanted to do, so after working on democracy and cohesion for about two years, I moved to Brussels. I think LSE mostly gave me the freedom to think and to get knowledge on a lot of political theory that I find still useful now. An analytical mindset helps me structure and write correct policy papers, for instance, and understand the basis of the work that we do in practice.

What are your tips for students that want to engage with civic issues in their careers?

One tip would be to keep track of what you want to do. I see a lot of people that enter the private sector and because it’s well paid, they end up forgetting their dreams. Don’t forget your dreams and have stamina! Also consider the framework you want to work in: how much independence and autonomy do you want to have? If it doesn’t work straight after graduation, it’s not the end of the world and there are always ways that might not be straightforward to end up doing what you like to do!

I’ve worked in think tanks for about five years now, but it wasn’t a clear trajectory: I remember sitting in the LSE Library and looking through Career Hub

Check out Sophie’s work at the EPC here!

To get started, read our other blog articles on how to engage with civic issues during your studies and how to get started with your own research, presenting your findings as a poster or video.

How are you following your passion? What are the civic issues most important to you? Share your thoughts in the comments below!