Galway Bay fm newsroom - Galway has been highlighted as an example of how secondary cities around the world can compete with "superstar capitals".
It's highlighted in new research being conducted by Trinity College and Ca' Foscar University of Venice.
Some would argue Galway punches well above its weight as a city of just 85 thousand people.
And researchers agree - saying it's a prime example of how secondary cities across Europe are competing with so-called "superstar capitals".
They say the likes of London, Dublin, Milan, New York and Bangalore have grown astromonically over the past 15 years, following a "winner takes all" model.
But they've pin-pointed several cities like Galway, Raleigh-Durham in the US and the Ruhr Valley in Germany as locations that have bucked the global trend.
Researchers point to their competitive innovation and entrepeneurship ecosystems despite the presence of a nearby dominant city.
Key factors are global connectivity, links between local universities and the private sector, and local finance and entrepreneurship.
