On first and second June 2016, the second Talent networking and collaborative meeting will take place in the frame of WCRR 2016 Milan, Italy.

The UIC Talent project (Global network of railway talents) has been set up to tackle the various challenges that the railway industry is facing (ageing population, image problem, war for talents, loss of corporate knowledge, skills mismatches, knowledge transfer, ...) and support its members in their national approaches and efforts for improving the image of the railway industry, as well as attracting and retaining the best talents. The project endeavours to tackle the following top three priorities:

• Ensuring that knowledge is passed on to the next generation
• Developing workforce skills/capabilities
• Attracting and Retaining valued talent

At the core of the project is the creation of a strong & sustainable foundation for fostering international cooperation amongst the talents in the railway sector.
The second event is capitalising on the first successful Talent event (Newcastle upon Tyne, July 2015) which brought together participants from 25 countries across Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America.

The purpose of the event is to reinforce the core values of the network (attractiveness, creativity and performance) and boost the global network through varied training methods and tools aiming at triggering action, participation and sense of ownership.

During the event, the attendees will, inter alia:

• Explore the challenges of international work through both face to face and remote communication. Learn how to avoid cross-cultural pitfalls
• Develop cultural awareness and self criticism
• Learn to adapt their way of working to meet the unique demands of working virtually, optimise the quality of virtual interactions. Attendees will be provided with tools to facilitate experience sharing and virtual closeness.

The attendees will also have access to one of the technical visits organised in the frame of WCRR.

Last but not least the event will also be the occasion to “induct” the Railway Talent Ambassadors who can attend the event, to hear their visions and to reflect on the possibilities for the rail industry (more information about the Ambassadors programme at: www.railtalent.org)