CLOSING SESSION

Miquel Mateu

Presentation of the Conclusions of the ICT Cluster session

The rôle of administrations as “initial catalyst” and that of universities as sources of talent to develop and enrich the the activities of the ICT Cluster are two key factors, as affirmed by the director of Internal Economic Promotion of Barcelona City Council, Miquel Mateu, who, as chairman of the session devoted to this sector, was responsible for presenting the conclusions arising from the same. In said session, Barcelona’s Strategic Plan to reinforce the ICT Cluster of the 22@ was presented, and the experience of the West Midlands zone of the United Kingdom, a very innovative region in this sector, was looked into in some detail.

KEY IDEAS

• The public sector as promotor of opportunities
“The concept of innovation is not limited to a specific sphere, but takes in all fields of activity. The public sector should work in collaboration with the private sector. In this sense, Administration should be the initial catalyst, after which it must give way to those companies capable of leading the subsequent process”.

• Differentiation and specialisation, keys to competitivity
“It is necessary to attain a high enough technological level. Companies must specialise and work towards achieving a certain degree of differentiation, as this will make them fully competitive. In this process, innovation should come from the cluster’s companies themselves, to be reinforced by external collaboration and importation of talent from other places. Universities also play a very important rôle as sources of talent to maintain, develop and enrich the activities of the cluster”.

• Keeping an eye on the market
“In the innovative process of the sector, although we should be aware of what the technologies we wish to reinforce in the future are, it is also necessary to keep an eye on the market every day and, if necessary, redirect our activities and not be trapped by preconceived ideas”.