Slovakia's capital Bratislava on Tuesday presented a new programme of cooperation with firms and universities focused on economic development, titled 'Bratislava: The Capital of Opportunities for Talent and Innovation'.
Bratislava Mayor Matúš Vallo, who presented the programme, said that the aim is to put Bratislava on the global investment map.
Bratislava wants to strengthen its position as an attractive city for talent, innovation and high-quality job opportunities. At the same time, it's launching a 'Future Founders Varsity' project in cooperation with The Spot, focused on supporting entrepreneurship among university students.
Vallo stressed that economic development is a key long-term prerequisite for improving the quality of life in the city. "Job opportunities, high-quality education, affordable housing and prospects for young people determine whether they'll choose to build their future in Bratislava," he said.
According to the Mayor, the city is ready to enhance the quality of life, in particular by improving public spaces, upgrading public transport and planning the city's development. "Everything else must be done in cooperation and in a creative dialogue with our partners," noted Vallo. He added that the Future Founders Varsity project will motivate and prepare young talent for entrepreneurship, encouraging them to continue living in the city.
Bratislava is responding in this way to challenges such as an outflow of talent, technological changes, automation and global competition. As many as 23 percent of Slovak students leave to study abroad, and the number of students at Bratislava-based universities has declined by 15 percent since 2014. Without an active approach, the capital city could lose thousands of jobs by 2030. Well-designed policies could help to create tens of thousands of new jobs in high value-added sectors.
Future Founders Varsity will help students to develop entrepreneurial skills and connect them with practical experience. It's being developed in cooperation with the capital city, The Spot and Bloomberg Associates, with the aim of supporting new start-ups. The pilot stage of the programme will run from February to June. The city has also launched a development project with the Vienna Business Agency, thereby more closely linking the impact ecosystems of Bratislava and Vienna via joint programmes. At the same time, the city will actively support the arrival of new investors in Bratislava.
Source: TASR
