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San Diego’s innovation ecosystem was not inherited. It was built by deliberate action through generations of planned investment on infrastructure and talent development. That is the central finding of the GFCC’s latest report, San Diego Study Trip: University and Research Leadership Forum – Event Report, produced with its member UC San Diego after the July 22–23 study trip and now available for download. The two-day program brought together industry, government, and academic

Registration is now open for the Tsukuba Study Trip, taking place February 14–18, 2027, in Tsukuba and Tokyo in Japan. Hosted by the University of Tsukuba and the Tsukuba Global Innovation Promotion Agency (TGI), the program examines how a research-intensive region and one of the world's oldest planned science city moves from research concentration toward industry creation, commercialization, talent development, and global collaboration. Designated by Japan’s Cabinet in 1963

The GFCC’s 2026 Global Innovation Summit brought together leaders from more than 20 countries in Sofia, Bulgaria, from October 19 to 22 for four days of high-level discussions, networking and exchange on topics ranging from space technology and artificial intelligence to innovation policy and infrastructure development. Hosted by GFCC corporate member GBS (Glavbolgarstroy Holding AD), the program combined the GFCC Annual Meeting, a full day of Summit sessions and site visits

This week, the GFCC launched its 2026 Call to Action, Building the Talent Advantage in an AI-Driven Economy, at the Global Innovation Summit in Sofia, Bulgaria. The document sets out ten recommendations for developing talent in an economy increasingly shaped by AI. It addresses how education systems, businesses, universities, and governments can invest in people and human capabilities, build resilience to disruption, and earn the trust of the talent pipeline they seek to bui

The GFCC is proud to welcome the University of Wisconsin–Madison to its global network of universities, committed to sharing competitiveness best practices and advancing innovation worldwide. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is a public land-grant research university and the flagship campus of the Universities of Wisconsin system. Its guiding principle, the Wisconsin Idea, holds that a university's education and research should improve people's lives beyond the classroom. Classifi

For years, "circular economy" has been shorthand for recycling: a waste-management footnote to the real business of growth. South Africa is treating it as something closer to the opposite: a new source of growth in its own right. At the GFCC's September Monthly Call, Dr. Mmboneni Muofhe, Deputy Director-General for Socio-Economic Innovation Partnerships at South Africa's Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, laid out a national strategy that reframes circularity a

The GFCC is proud to welcome the Government of South Africa, through its Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), as a sustaining member, the highest level of GFCC membership. DSTI's mandate is to advance South Africa's socio-economic development through research and innovation, providing the leadership, enabling environment and resources that science, technology and innovation require. Its work centers on four areas: research excellence, technology transfer a

Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh at 2025 Global Innovation Summit held at the university. When University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Joan Gabel describes her roles across university leadership, corporate boards and national policy, she does not treat them as separate lanes. In her words, they are similar conversations happening in different rooms. Last month, Forbes named her to its 50 Over 50 list, which recognizes women who have reached the top of their careers or

Leaders from over 19 countries, including university presidents, CEOs, government officials and other senior leaders, will gather from October 19 to 22, in Sofia, for the 2026 Global Innovation Summit. They will be joined by a range of distinguished Bulgarian officials, including Alexander Pulev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Investments and Industry; Iva Petrova, Minister of Energy; and Ivan Vasilev, Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation. Check a

The GFCC has signed a new collaboration agreement with its member Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP) to join the executive training program CEO Future Ready Academy as a global partner, alongside the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIP) and COTEC Portugal. The Academy, delivered through Católica-Lisbon School of Business and Economics, centers on the "Accelerating Internationalization" program, a Board and C-suite course focused on strategic thinking, intern

The GFCC is proud to welcome The American College of Greece (ACG) to its global network of universities, businesses, government agencies, and organizations committed to advancing competitiveness best practices and cross-border collaboration. Founded in 1875, ACG is the oldest and largest US-accredited institution in Europe, offering education from pre-kindergarten through executive MBA and serving roughly 5,000 university students, with more than 2,000 international students

The GFCC is proud to welcome Landmark Communications, a Tirana-based communications and advertising agency, to its global network of corporations and organizations advancing competitiveness and innovation worldwide. Founded in 2011, Landmark Communications has grown into one of Albania's leading full-service agencies, working across marketing, advertising, digital, and public relations for government institutions, international organizations, and household brands across the r

Societies have entered a new paradigm shaped by AI's impact on work, life, and learning. To unpack this reality, the GFCC and Torrens University Australia launched The Human Edge: Global Perspectives on AI and Prosperity last July, a report exploring how leaders across 32 countries view the human-AI transition and where governments, businesses, universities, and other stakeholders should invest to achieve shared prosperity. Systems thinking consultant and professor Aurélio L.

The GFCC will convene the 2026 Global Innovation Summit (GIS) in Sofia, Bulgaria, from October 19-22, hosted by corporate member Glavbolgarstroy Holding AD (GBS), one of the largest construction groups in Southeastern Europe. Leaders from over 15 countries, including university presidents, CEOs, and government officials, have confirmed attendance. Under the theme "Powering Competitiveness: Energy, Infrastructure and Digital Innovation for Economic Transformation," the Summit

Tsukuba is Japan's leading science city. This planned research hub about 50 kilometers northeast of central Tokyo was built around a concentration of national research institutions and the University of Tsukuba. The city is now home to close to 160 research institutions and around 300 startups that have been established over the years in connection with the university. However, this research concentration has not automatically translated into shared priorities, trusted interf

Europe hosts world-class researchers, strong industrial sectors and reputed universities, but still faces persistent difficulty converting knowledge into industrial scale, productivity growth, and globally visible technology companies. The US, for instance, has built six companies with market valuations above one trillion dollars — a scale of corporate value Europe has yet to produce. For GFCC member Dr. Bernadett Petri, Managing Director at the Hungarian Development Promotio

The GFCC is pleased to announce that Mr. Clifton Foster has been appointed a Distinguished Fellow, joining a select group of thought leaders contributing to our mission of accelerating competitiveness and innovation around the world. Mr. Foster has built a career at the intersection of international finance, economic policy, and global investment, advising governments, financial institutions, corporations, and private investors on international finance, investment, trade, and

What strategic capabilities are needed to power competitiveness over the next decade? What role can regional cooperation play to ensure energy security? Between October 19–22, senior leaders from government, industry and academia from across the globe will gather in Sofia, Bulgaria, to explore how energy security, future energy grids, infrastructure investment, AI and digital innovation, and next-generation nuclear energy are driving — or constraining — economic transformatio

The next GFCC study trip destination has been set. On the week of February 15, 2027, the GFCC Community will travel to Tsukuba, Japan's leading science city and one of the country's most concentrated hubs of research, technology, and innovation. The visit hosted by Tsukuba Global Innovation Promotion Agency (TGI), in partnership with the University of Tsukuba, marks the program's first stop in Asia, following previous editions in Birmingham, Lisbon, and San Diego. Tsukuba, 56

The GFCC, in partnership with its member Torrens University Australia, has launched a new report examining how societies and organizations are navigating the human-AI transition. The Human Edge: Global Perspectives on AI and Prosperity is now available for download. The report was developed through the GFCC's Global Task Force on Human and AI, chaired by Torrens University Australia Vice-Chancellor Prof. Aleks Subic. It draws on a global survey conducted between November 2025