Willem van Winden (PhD) is professor of Urban Knowledge Economy & Strategy at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. He is one of the founders and academic leader of the Center of Urban Management. Also, he is strategic advisor to URBACT, Europe’ s exchange and learning programme promoting sustainable urban development, and Lead Expert of EUniverCities, an URBACT network of European cities and universities. He has published widely on urban knowledge based development and related topics, in books and international peer-reviewed scientific articles, and he works as advisor for a number of large cities. He is founder and owner of consulting firm UrbanIQ.