Impressions from the Competitiveness Summer School 2018

Last month the Foundation, in association with IESE Business School, held its Competitiveness Summer School, the annual agora for policy makers end senior practitioners in economic development. The training week went fast and it was a great experience to see the engagement level between participants, the faculty and speakers, hailing from diverse geographies and areas of expertise.

When Friday came, everyone left the classroom with a smile on their face and fresh ideas in mind. Here are a few impressions from the participants themselves about the Competitiveness Summer School:

Raimonds Aleksejenko, Deputy Vice Secretary, Latvian Ministry of Economics: “This has been one of the best trainings that I have experienced. I'd strongly recommend it to the professionals working in public sector, especially for those who work with sectoral and industrial policies in regional and national level.”

Evita Feldberga, Deputy Director of Sectoral Department, Latvian Ministry of Economics: “I had a very high expectation for this week and I honestly can say that they delivered more than I expected. All speakers were of highest level with deep knowledge on competitiveness theory and practice… We brought home a precise action plan for Latvia’s future sectoral policy development.”

Claudia Soncin, Network Coordinator, TCI Network: "Thanks to the Summer School I am taking home knowledge on the different cluster policies in various regions. I really appreciated the learning method with the business cases which were very interactive. I’d strongly recommend it to professionals working for the development of their countries or regions."

Anna Korten, Communications Officer, TCI Network: “The Summer School 2018 provided us with first-hand cluster experiences and cases from various parts of the world. I really appreciated the high-level speakers explained the story and challenges they faced and the work they deployed. I gained a deep understanding of clusters, cluster initiatives, and their application for sound competitiveness policies and economic development.”

Many thanks from the Foundation to Raimonds, Evita, Claudia and Anna for their words of trust and support !