https://www.alpbach.org/sessions/bold-people-for-a-bold-europe-how-to-attract-and-retain-talent
Talent: The expectations of Generation Z and how we should respond
A "bold Europe" – the motto of this year's Forum Alpbach – needs determined, innovative, and forward-thinking people. At the invitation of Forschung Austria, around 70 participants in the workshop "Bold people for a bold Europe" at this year's Forum Alpbach discussed how the expectations of talented individuals can be matched with the opportunities offered by companies, research institutions, funding agencies, etc.
There was intense discussion about how Europe can best utilize its talent potential to succeed in a rapidly changing global landscape. The key findings can be summarized as follows:
- It is important that the "system side" regularly discusses the expectations of talented individuals and reflects on what it has to offer. Key expectations include the opportunity to implement ideas, the opportunity for further development, including a corresponding culture of learning and error, and a good work-life balance.
- There is a lot of talent in Europe; nevertheless, we will have to show more openness towards non-European talent and, in general, more diversity and flexibility (e.g., in terms of credits, formal requirements, etc.). This is not least because talented individuals have very different backgrounds and therefore a "one-size-fits-all" approach will not work.
- The role of team leaders is essential. On the one hand, additional training could enable them to find a good balance between the dimensions of "freedom" and "orientation"; at the same time, institutional support structures could relieve them of often complex and rapidly changing legal and administrative matters.
The high-caliber panel was moderated by Siegfried Reich (Salzburg Research):
- Gabriele Ambros (President of Forschung Austria)
- Bahara Muradi (computer science student)
- Kiyesola Kolawole (student of chemistry and physics of materials)
- Andrea Scherer (student of industrial logistics)
- Irmela Kofler (Head of COMET K1-Met)
- Christof Gattringer (President of the Austrian Science Fund FWF)
- Antje Kückemanns (Fraunhofer Human Resources)
Talent: The expectations of Generation Z and how we should respond.
A "bold Europe" – the motto of this year's Forum Alpbach – needs determined, innovative, and forward-thinking people. At the invitation of Forschung Austria, a good 70 participants in the workshop "Bold people for a bold Europe" at this year's Forum Alpbach discussed how the expectations of talented people can be matched with what companies, research institutions, funding bodies, etc. have to offer.
There was an intense discussion on how Europe can best leverage its talent potential to succeed in a rapidly changing global landscape. The main findings can be summarized as follows:
- It is important that "the system" regularly discusses the expectations of talent and reflects on its offerings. Key expectations here include the opportunity to make things happen, the opportunity for further development including an appropriate learning and failure culture, and work-life balance.
- There is a lot of talent in Europe; however, we will have to be more open to non-European talent and generally show more diversity and more flexibility (e.g., in terms of credits, formal requirements, etc.). This is not least due to the fact that talents have very different life histories and therefore a "one-size-fits-all" approach will not work.
- The role of team leaders is essential. Additional training could enable them, on the one hand, to find a good balance between the dimensions of "freedom" and "orientation"; at the same time, they could be institutionally relieved of often complex and rapidly changing legal-administrative matters through support structures.
The high-level panel was moderated by Siegfried Reich (Salzburg Research):
- Gabriele Ambros (President of Forschung Austria)
- Bahara Muradi (computer science student)
- Kiyesola Kolawole (chemistry and materials physics student)
- Andrea Scherer (student of industrial logistics)
- Irmela Kofler (Area Manager COMET K1-Met)
- Christof Gattringer (President of the Austrian Science Fund FWF)
- Antje Kückemanns (Fraunhofer Human Resources)
Results from the Mentimeter survey we conducted at the beginning can be found in the attached PDF.