Barcelona reAct, an event aimed at discussing the relaunch of Barcelona’s economy after over a year of the pandemic, is taking place this week (April 13-16).
Experts and agents from all sectors are sharing proposals this week, and analysing up to ten major levers to help drive recovery in Barcelona. Experiences from other cities are also being shared as part of the programme, with the aim of weaving together a network of resilient metropolises. The general social initiatives that citizens have contributed to throughout the pandemic will also be recognised.
Andreu Mas-Colell, BIST President, participated in the Barcelona Innovation Coast (BIC) session today (April 15), which presented the BIC, a public-private, complementary and collaborative resource to promote innovation. During the session, the importance of continuous innovation and economic resources were discussed in the context of competitiveness. Mas-Colell spoke about the importance of attracting talent, and that attraction of talent and capital must go hand in hand as they feed off each other.
Gabby Silberman, Director General of BIST, and Luis Serrano, Director of the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), a BIST centre, took part in the session about eHealth and Science Initiatives today (April 15). Silberman highlighted the most important factors for international talent attraction and retention: Quality and competitiveness of research centres, sustained investment in R&D allowing for growth in the number of projects and their reach, excellent universities and training centres allowing for the development of local talent, international connectivity including collaborations and shared infrastructure, and recognition and social appreciation of science by both the political arena and companies.
The event will continue tomorrow (April 16) from 9:30h to 14:00h. The full programme can be found here.