Amsterdam has the characteristics of creativeness, openness and diversity that make it attractive to global talent and a young population. It has strong research universities and excellent transport infrastructure including one of the world’s leading airports. It is the financial capital of the Netherlands and home to many multi-national companies. Amsterdam’s cultural and architectural heritage have ensured that it is better-known globally than many cities twice its size.

However, the Amsterdam metropolitan region still has unfulfilled potential. This report looks at how to encourage effective interaction between the higher education sector and the region, not simply on the transfer of technology and knowledge, but on the mobility and skills of people. It considers how to develop and transform the talents and competences both of the young non-Western minority and of the 30+ age-group.

This publication explores a range of helpful policy measures and institutional reforms to mobilise higher education for the development of Amsterdam. It is part of the series of the OECD reviews of Higher Education in Regional and City Development. These reviews help mobilise higher education institutions for economic, social and cultural development of cities and regions. They analyse how the higher education system impacts upon regional and local development and bring together universities, other higher education institutions and public and private agencies to identify strategic goals and to work towards them.