Jordi W. Carnes, City Council of Barcelona

 

Drawing from the Barcelona experience - now faced with the global economic crisis – the Barcelona Deputy Mayor Jordi W. Carnes highlights the measures that Barcelona has taken to cope with globalisation. He presents the steps that Barcelona has taken to mobilise universities and other tertiary education institutions to support local development, and comments on the key outcomes, constraints and challenges.  In particular, the Deputy Mayor will highlight the new Strategic Plan for the Barcelona Metropolitan Area Barcelona, Vision 2020, which has a strong focus on higher education, talent attraction (including international students), entrepreneurship and high value added activities. To achieve the goals, the partnership between the City Council and HEIs need to be strengthened and HEIs  need to be better aligned with the strategic objectives.