‘Lublin at Home’ brought together participants from Linköping Science Park, Linköping University, and the municipalities of Norrköping and Linköping.

After some presentations focusing on successful examples of attracting talent, and retaining international students in the region after their studies, the group got down to work.

During the workshop, they held discussions on the same themes that were covered at the EUniverCities Network meeting in Lublin.

At the follow up session in September, the group prioritised the ideas from the first workshop and attempted to deepen the analysis, getting closer to proposing actions. During this session, even more suggestions for activity emerged.

The group are planning to hold a third workshop after the EUC-meeting in Magdeburg in December. This session will be an opportunity to finally decide which proposals they want to proceed with, and what each organisation will do.

Here are some examples of proposals and actions that were discussed during the workshops:

• Meetings between residents and students are important. As stakeholders, the key organisations need to promote these meetings and ensure they occur, for example, through open house events on campus and other social activities.
• Coordination between cultural and entertainment events in the city, and the students’ own events is important, and something that could be developed  further.
• Offering discounts for students in the city is a smart way to engage students and encourage them to explore and participate in the city. However, who needs to take responsibility for this issue and how?
• More interactions between employers and students are needed! Employers need to improve their appeal to attract today’s generation of students. It is important for employers to be “in tune” with sustainability issues and work-life balance, which are priorities for many younger workers.
• Digital work opportunities have changed the landscape and provide more opportunities for quiet rural living.
• Employers need to show recent graduates that they can stay and work in the region. For many students, the transition from student life to the “real world” is a challenging and difficult period.
• A regional intermediary that bridges student unions/students and employers together may be needed.

All of these ideas will be revisited later in the year with a view to developing a clear partnership plan to tackle the challenges together.