CNA Emilia-Romagna, a partner in the Interreg Europe NOTRE project, participated in a Staff Exchange in San Sebastián on November 20th, 2025. The visit aimed to explore the city's innovation ecosystem, share experiences with Fomento San Sebastián, the host partner for this exchange, and foster collaboration between both regions.
The Staff Exchange was organized during WeekINN 2025, San Sebastián's flagship Innovation Week, an initiative promoted by Fomento San Sebastián since 2014 with a special focus on innovation. In this year's edition, one of the days was centered on Cities, Science, and Talent, providing the ideal framework for the NOTRE exchange activities.
International Conference for Cities
The event took place at EKINN, a hub for entrepreneurship and innovation launched in 2024 to strengthen the local ecosystem, foster innovative projects, and attract talent. In its first year, EKINN welcomed over 5.500 visitors and built a community of more than 200 entrepreneurial initiatives.
The morning session featured a Plenary Session on "Talent-based Science Cities from a European Perspective", with keynote speaker Professor Manuel Heitor, former Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal and author of the Heitor Report (2024) on the role of science and innovation in European competitiveness.
A Networks Roundtable brought together key European stakeholders to debate research policies and challenges for cities, featuring André Sobczak, Secretary General of EUROCITIES, and Jesús Valero, Managing Director of Tecnalia and EARTO Chair.
The Cities Workshop addressed the question "How can the city be attractive to scientific talent?" with best practices shared by representatives from San Sebastián (I-capital finalist 2026), Espoo (I-capital front-runner 2025), and Turin (I-capital winner 2025).
Study Visits on Quantum and Biotech
In the afternoon, the delegation visited leading organizations in San Sebastián's innovation ecosystem:
- IIS Biogipuzkoa – Basque Health Research Institute.
- ViveBiotech – Biosciences company specializing in gene therapy.
- Quantum Mille (CFM) – Materials Physics Center, showcasing quantum computing capabilities.
The day concluded with the Innovation Week Awards ceremony at Hotel María Cristina, celebrating the most innovative initiatives in the city.
This Staff Exchange reinforced the collaboration between CNA Emilia-Romagna and Fomento San Sebastián, enabling valuable knowledge sharing on talent attraction, innovation policies, and ecosystem development within the NOTRE project framework.