GCE NODE was one of the organizers, together with Kristiansand Municipality, Vest-Agder County and and Aust-Agder County, of a trip to Austin, Texas this week. The Agder delegation had industry, government and academia representatives.
37 people, including Kristiansand Mayor Harald Furre, Mandal Mayor Alf Erik Andersen and Vest-Agder County Deputy Mayor Tore Askildsen, met with Austin Mayor Steve Adler, The University of Texas at Austin and several co-working organizations and high-tech businesses.
The purpose was to learn how the fastest growing city in the United States promotes innovation and entrepreneurship.
“We are already well connected with The University of Texas at Austin through the Nortex project. I am glad to learn that both Kristiansand Municipality and the University of Agder are planning – as a direct result of our visit – to build new relationships with a city we could learn a lot from,” says Ellingsen.
Delegations from Agder, and especially from Kristiansand, have regularly visited Austin. However, this year’s delegation was larger than ever before.
“This is representative of a region that has always focused on building bridges to other regions. More than ever, we are working as a unit to seek international knowledge and inspiration to further build our own region,” says Ellingsen.
