Partners and participants of the MAC-Skilling Project (www.macskilling.eu) took part in our latest training programme, “Better Jobs with Cluster-based Policies”, held in Barcelona and hosted by ESCI-UPF International School of Business from 27th October 2025.
The programme brought together a fantastic team of cluster managers and policymakers from the Azores, Cabo Verde, Canary Islands, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Madeira and Mauritania, working within the Blue Economy.
We enjoyed an inspiring few days of learning, collaboration and exchange — not forgetting fun - both in the classroom and out in the field during visits to the Barcelona Clúster Nàutic and the Port of Barcelona Innovation (https://lnkd.in/eZwRrbFB).
Led by Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias, the MAC-Skilling Project is part-funded by the European Union’s Interreg MAC Programme.
Signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) With The World Bank Academy
We would like to share with you that The World Bank and the Foundation Clusters and Competitiveness have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate and cooperate in providing training for policymakers and the World Bank staff on #microeconomic #development tools, with a primary focus on #clusters and #valuechains.
This collaboration builds on the successful 2025 Barcelona Competitiveness Summer School, held at the IESE Business School campus, which brought together World Bank staff and professionals from five different countries. The instructors included Christian Ketels and Meriem A. Ali Slimane from the World Bank, Joan Enric Ricart and Maria Luisa Blázquez de la Hera from IESE Business School, Reza Zadeh and Emiliano Duch from the Foundation, and Martin Scholten from Wageningen University & Research. The program included two days of visits to success stories of cluster polices in Catalonia, the Applus+ IDIADA’s automotive testing facilities, which facilitate the development of #EVs and the Leather Cluster Barcelona, which built a joint water treatment plant to become environmentally sustainable and serve the leading luxury brands in the world.
The partnership with The World Bank focuses on co-developing courses, sharing expert faculty and teaching materials, and encouraging participants from across countries and sectors to ensure a diverse and practical learning experience. Next year's Barcelona Competitiveness Summer School is already featured among the Practitioner Programs offered by the World Bank Group Academy. Further information is available at this link.
Another opportunity to join the Competitiveness Summer School 2024
Later than anticipated the Competitiveness (late) Summer School will run from 30 September to 04 October 2024 in a hybrid format. It will bring together the academic excellence of IESE with the practical expertise of the Foundation. This year’s programme focuses on Cluster-based Development and Examples of Sustainable Agricultural Clusters
The full details and the course prospectus are available from our website or clicking here
