A delegation from Sant Cugat del Vallès participated in a study visit to Utrecht, Netherlands, from 14 to 16 April. This visit formed part of the European Health Cities project, which aims to improve public policies that drive innovative local ecosystems in life sciences and health.
Representatives from Sant Cugat Empresarial, ACCIÓ, and the Barcelona Metropolitan Area also joined the visit, alongside delegates from other European regions. The project encourages cooperation among European cities to strengthen innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaboration between public and private bodies. The goal is to generate economic and social impact, ultimately improving residents' quality of life. The visit concentrated on three key areas: governance, talent development, and innovation support services.
Learning from Utrecht's Model
The first day provided insight into Utrecht's regional ecosystem model, recognised as one of Europe's most competitive. This region boasts over 9,500 life sciences and health companies, more than 133,000 professionals, and research and development investment exceeding €900 million.
The second day took place at Utrecht Science Park, the Netherlands' primary knowledge hub. This park employs over 31,000 people and has one of Europe's largest concentrations of life sciences researchers. It integrates universities, hospitals, research centres, and businesses within a single location, helping interdisciplinary collaboration and accelerating innovation. The park is home to more than 55,000 students and thousands of researchers.
Digital Health and Future Collaboration
The delegation also attended the Zorg & ICT fair, a major event for digital health innovation. This fair brings together companies, healthcare professionals, and institutions, helping them to collaborate. Sant Cugat City Council officials said that participating in this study visit allows Sant Cugat to strengthen its strategy to build an innovative local health ecosystem. This ecosystem will be connected with Europe and focused on impact.
This initiative positions Sant Cugat del Vallès as an active municipality in European projects, committed to health innovation, international collaboration, and knowledge-based economic development.
