Barcelona is a city of entrepreneurs. The Catalan capital is considered southern Europe's startup hub and, therefore, a major draw for talent. It's not unusual to find executives, entrepreneurs and tech experts wandering the city, renting a flat or working at Catalan companies. Though the ecosystem exists, work between companies still has room to grow, and collaboration, in some cases, is thin on the ground. Vincent Jong had spent much of his career working at software and technology companies, and when he arrived in Barcelona, he wanted to connect with professionals with a similar background to his own, but found it difficult to do so. Out of this need, AI Campus Barcelona was born: a space designed to connect this talent and foster the exchange of knowledge through workshops, meetings and conferences on artificial intelligence and new technologies.
"It's about getting the right people in a room and letting things happen," Jong tells The New Barcelona Post. His idea is innovative in Barcelona, but also in the rest of the world. The reality is that there are plenty of conference and workshop spaces in diverse, tech-driven cities like Barcelona, but not always from the perspective that "what happens on stage matters just as much as what the person sitting next to you says," the entrepreneur notes. His idea grew out of the need to connect with more people who shared his outlook and judgement, but also out of trying to find a venue where business owners could help one another: "Not fostering competition, but business collaboration," says Jong.
AI Campus Barcelona also turns on something central to today's world: the use of advanced technology. Jong was clearly after a meeting space, but he also wanted to discuss, reflect on and help implement this new technology, which companies often approach with reluctance. As a result, the talks and events on offer are always tied to artificial intelligence and new ways of integrating technology. "A learning space for everyone," the founder stresses. Located in the Gràcia neighbourhood, the project's premises are open-plan yet intimate. The groups that gather there do so in a social, low-key way, one that leaves room for discussion and opinion. Jong also notes that the groups he puts together are kept small, around thirty people, to encourage that connection between professionals.
Sponsors and word-of-mouth exclusivity
AI Campus Barcelona's sessions are exclusive, and entry is only possible with a prior invitation or by filling in a form that's then reviewed. This approach lets Jong and his team put together groups from similar sectors or with shared interests, who can properly work through their concerns about business or the wider world. What's more, the sessions are free, aimed at exploring connections between people rather than any financial return. The initiative does, however, have sponsors who help fund the project and, in exchange, get a platform to give some of the talks they favour, safe in the knowledge that attendees are genuinely interested in the subject at hand.
One of these sponsors is Holded, the Catalan company behind a cloud-based business management software built especially for SMEs and the self-employed. Scott Dodson, vice-president of marketing at the company, tells this publication that AI Campus Barcelona's values "align perfectly with Holded." He explains that connections between companies can sometimes be hard to forge, and that a space like this makes relationships between tech companies easier. Dodson says they sponsor the initiative because it can help build a community and an ecosystem, and, he adds, "they want to be part of the change."
Workshops for businesses
Beyond connectivity, AI Campus Barcelona also wants to play a role in business education. They have a space dedicated to workshops for companies, where executives themselves can raise their needs and shape exercises to help teams keep advancing in their use of technology alongside their staff. These workshops are highly practical and adapt to each team's role and daily routine, with exercises built around real situations and tasks. Training can take place at the campus itself, at company offices or online, and is designed to stop AI being an abstract tool and turn it into a technology applicable to everyday work.
Ultimately, Barcelona has a growing tech ecosystem, but the experts interviewed agree there's a shortage of spaces for knowledge transfer, and not just along purely vertical lines, from executives to employees, but horizontally too, that is, from company to company. AI Campus Barcelona aims to become this go-to space for reflecting on technology: a project to grow the ecosystem and bring it closer together through training, events and conferences of every kind.