As part of the project “Technical Assistance for Gümüşhane Traditional and Organic Products Business Development Center (İŞGEM)” capacity building activities, PLANET successfully organized a 3 days study visit in Austria between the16th and 20th of October 2017, for a delegation of five, including the Governor and the Mayor of Gümüşhane, in the cities of Linz, Salzburg and Vienna.

Among the objectives of the project is to support the institutional set-up of Gümüşhane Business Development Centre (İŞGEM) including the development of a sustainable business plan for its operation and the provision of capacity building services for its staff. Within this framework the Study visit focused on knowledge exchange with experienced structures of cluster and incubation systems of Upper-Austria’s governmental organizations.

The visit included scheduled meetings at Clusterland Business Upper Austria, a business agency of the Upper Austrian government serving as an innovation driver and a partner for location, development & settlement of companies as well as cooperation and public funding advisory services, Tech2b, a high-tech incubator in Upper Austria and the innovation department of Chamber of Commerce of Upper Austria.

During the study visit the participants had the opportunity to become acquainted with best practices and approaches followed by the Austrian institutions, exchange views on specific topics and share experiences.

All participants highlighted the significance of the initiative in terms of know-how transfer and expressed their satisfaction on the overall organization.