A delegation from Emilia-Romagna in The Netherlands to learn about talent attraction and retention

Last week a huge delegation from Emilia-Romagna participated in a study visit in The Netherlands to better comprehend and observe good practices on talent attraction and talent retention, as per the Emilia-Romagna Regional Law 2/2023 on the attraction, retention and valorization of talents, and what an enriching experience it has been!

From insightful presentations to meaningful conversations with Dutch peers, the visit offered a firsthand look at placement services offered to national and international students, best practices to attract and retain students and graduates, models of collaboration with local companies, municipalities and regional government, initiatives to ensure the wellbeing of international talents and their families.

Key takeaways:

• collaboration between academia, industry, institutions & civil society as the crucial aspect to drive impactful change;
• a broad and specific range of services as the key to attract and retain talents;
• remember that we are running a marathon not a sprint.

The delegation, made up of 30 members, composed by representatives of the Emilia-Romagna Region, ART-ER, main municipalities, universities and academies of fine arts and music. It had the opportunity to visit and meet Brainport Eindhoven, Holland Expat Center South and Fontys University of Applied Science-Academy of the Arts while in Utrecht they met Utrecht International Center, HKU|University of Arts, HKU|Utrechts Conservatory and Academiegebouw-Universiteit Utrecht whose warm hospitality and expertise made this visit truly memorable.

We are now taking these learnings back to Emilia-Romagna and exploring how they can inform and enhance our work both at regional and local level, strengthening partnerships and working together to create impactful solutions.