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1. Wednesday, June 18, 2008 Talk with Economic Minister for Barcelona This afternoon we had the honor of meeting Francesc Miron. He is an economic minister for the city of Barcelona. He gave us a fascinating presentation on the current state and future of Barcelona. I personally thought the information provided was incredibly insightful and really stimulated my thinking. In summation Barcelona's strength lies in its location and its "Nursery" City style. If your business can succeed in Barcelona it most likely can succeed anywhere. I also found it interesting how he turned apparent weaknesses of the city such as lack of real estate and poor local distribution systems, such as narrow streets, into strengths. Also the scarcity of resources in the area, which on the surface would make things more difficult for development, is turned into a strength through application of skills learned. Barcelona's efficiency and logistics experience from dealing with these factors gives it a great base for future development and progress. I wish we would have had more time to talk with him and ask him questions. The hour and 45 minutes seemed to fly by in no time. I would have liked to further discuss issues concerning the European Union as an economic entity as well as Barcelona's future in the region. This presentation really helped me hone my focus on the relevant issues in today's modern environment. It's amazing what the city has accomplished in such a short time after being in a static state for so long. His zest for his city and job has got me thinking about what the future might hold for myself. I can identify with the role he takes and will certainly consider a career in the general field of economic development. I hope you are enjoying your summer. We wanted to let you know that a few weeks ago Rensselaer’s International Scholars Program officially launched. As you can see from this blog from one of our students ISP is truly an experience that is changing their lives. We’re starting our fall recruiting and we would love you to be part of our next team. With your permission we will be updating you periodically on the events that are daily making a difference in our students’ futures. - The ISP Team