PLENARY SESSION

Session 3: Talent

Nick Leon

International talent in Barcelona

Attracting talent is now considered one of the primary ingredients for a city to be internationally competitive. However, for Nick Leon, recently appointed director of Design London at Imperial College in London, merely attracting talent is not enough if conditions do not exist for new arrivals to connect to the social fabric of the city and become part of its motor of innovation. The results of a study that he performed for 22@ Barcelona show that Barcelona leads international rankings for attracting talent, but is lacking when it comes to maximising this talent.

KEY IDEAS

• Talent is the fuel of innovation
"In an evermore globalised economy, innovation has become the true battlefield. Talent is the fuel of this innovation, and cities play a fundamental role when it comes to attracting it, inspiring it and converting it into wealth."

• Talent is only valuable if it is connected to a city
"Merely attracting talent is not sufficient for a territory: new arrivals must be connected to the city, its residents, companies and institutions. If this talent is not connected, then even if the city does create business in the real estate, hotel or commercial sectors, it will have a hard time becoming a true hub of innovation."