International meeting on cluster experiences

The Agencia Competitividad Córdoba held a networking workshop at the Aula Magna of Universidad Siglo 21's Business School, where cluster managers and members of provincial clusters gathered for a day of exchange and learning with two cluster managers from Barcelona: Javier Selva Sánchez of CataloniaBio & HealthTech and Xavier García Gual of Tech Turism Clúster, both experts connected to ACCIÓ, the Catalan competitiveness agency.

"This meeting is part of the Programa Córdoba Cluster, launched just a month ago, which drives the creation and consolidation of clusters and gives companies tools to become more competitive, which ultimately means becoming more productive," said Fernando Sibilla, president of the Agencia Competitividad.

He added: "It is also the result of the Agency's close relationship with other competitiveness agencies around the world, whose experience and success stories in innovation give local players concrete practices they can apply in their own companies."

"This activity was very valuable for clusters that are just getting started, because we were able to share lessons learned and what has worked for us," said Javier Selva, representing CataloniaBio & HealthTech.

At the event, participants from Córdoba and Catalonia looked together at the challenges facing clusters and companies in both countries, in search of shared solutions. They also mapped out next steps, drawing up a concrete action plan to keep collaborating after the workshop, build valuable connections and strengthen relationships.

After presentations by Javier Selva Sánchez, who holds a PhD in Biomedicine and a master's in Neuroscience, and Xavier García Gual, a Tourism graduate with a master's in Entrepreneurship and Digital Business, participants split into two working groups organized by cluster life-cycle stage.

One group brought together clusters at the initiative stage, while the other included emerging clusters and those already in development. Manuel San Pedro guided the first group, which covered topics such as what a cluster is and its scope, identifying key stakeholders and designing an annual plan.

The second group worked with the international experts from the Catalan agency, discussing the logic of coopetition (how to compete and cooperate at the same time), how to keep a cluster running effectively and which organizations to approach for funding, among other topics.

The session helped provincial clusters identify opportunities, form partnerships and launch collaborative actions to boost competitiveness, growth and sustainability.

Marcela Caballero, cluster manager of Franquicias Córdoba, called the event "very positive, because it showed us how things are done in other parts of the world and what we need to improve, and it also validated what we have been doing in our province."