InnoCities learning trip 2026 to Estonia

What? Let’s benchmark best practices on how the Estonian public sector supports business growth, startups, and internationalization. 
Where? Tallinn, Estonia.
When? 3-5 February 2026 
For Whom? Urban developers from Innocities, business development & RDI officials from Finnish cities, government, academia, and other stakeholder groups. 

InnoCities network organizes annual benchmarking trips to interesting locations in Europe on sustainable urban development, ecosystem development, and innovation. Estonia has earned global recognition as one of the most digitally advanced nations, pioneering e-governance and creating an agile environment for innovation. Through strategic policies, digital infrastructure, and collaborative ecosystems, Estonia has built a model that accelerates business growth and attracts global talent. 

The benchmark trip organized by InnoCities offers participants an opportunity to explore these firsthand. During the visit, we will engage with leading public organizations, innovation hubs, and business development agencies to understand how Estonia leverages technology, policy, and partnerships to strengthen competitiveness. The insights gained will help us identify actionable ideas to enhance our own regional innovation ecosystems and support internationalization efforts. 

Overall objective:

The main objective of the trip is to benchmark best practices on how the Estonian public sector supports business growth, startups, and internationalization.

Goals for the trip: 

• Learn  how the public sector in Estonia works with the private sector to support of the growth and internationalization of businesses, especially startups and scale-ups,   

• Gain insight to the collaboration between the central government, cities, academia, and the private sector in solving problems and gain entry to the market, 

• Network and share experiences with Estonian colleagues, 

• Identify shared interests for future collaboration. 

Welcome aboard! Register by January 12th to join our study trip.

The registration has been completed. If you signed up but haven’t received a confirmation, please be in touch and we’ll make sure your registration has come through successfully.

Please see the program draft below for more information. InnoCities coordination arranges the program and the meetings while the participants arrange and cover their own travel, accommodation, and meal expenses unless stated otherwise. If the registration reaches unprecedented popularity, we may have to limit the group size.

Program draft Jan 27: 

The program and schedule are subject to change.

February 3: Öpik Conference Centre, street address Valukoja 8 

• 12:30-12:45 Arrival at Öpik Conference Centre
• 12:45-13:10 Welcoming words and Ülemiste City presentation, Key Account Manager Madis Judanov 
• 13:10-13:30 InnoCities Finnish Delegation 
• 13:30-14:00 Startup Sector Manager, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Liisi Kirch 
• 14:00-14:30 Head of Startup Estonia, Vaido Mikheim 
• 14:30-15:00 Coffee break 
• 15:00-16:00 Head of Innovation, City of Tallinn, Mark-Emil Talivere 
• 16:00-17:00 Meet & Discuss Further in Small Groups
  
• Also joining the afternoon:
  • Anneli Hansen, Director of Regional Business Development, Enterprise Estonia
  • Kalle Killar, Business Director, Tallinn City, Strategic Management Office
  • Kati Pärn, Nordic Partnerships Lead, Startup Estonia
  • Tiiu Treier, Head of Corporate Development, Tehnopol Science & Business Park
  • Mariann Uudmäe, Business Services Project Manager, Tehnopol Science & Business Park
    
• 19:00 Delegation joint dinner at Restaurant Platz, Roseni 7. At own expense, booking in advance. 

February 4: Site visits in Tallinn 

• 8:30 Charter bus from Sokos Hotel Viru to Tehnopol
• 9-12 Tehnopol Science & Business Park  
  • 9:10 Martin Goroško – Head of Business Services department
  • 9:50 Vootele Päi – Head of Dual-Use and Defence Technologies
  • 10:20 Rauno Varblas – Head of AI Field
  • 10:50 GScan OÜ – Sander Sein
  • 11:20 ThinFacility OÜ – Jürgo Preden

• 12:15-13:15 Helios Kohvik – lunch, at own expense.

• 14:00-15:00 Taltech Startup Centre
• 15:30-16:30 Taltech / FinEst Centre for Smart Cities, NRG-226

• 16:30 Charter bus from Taltech to Krulli
• 17:00-17:30 Krulli Quarter, KOTA club (5th floor at Krulli maja, B-entrance)

February 5: Öpik Building, street address Valukoja 8

• 9:00-10:30 E-Estonia Briefing Centre – E-Estonia x Startups x Smart Cities 
• 10:30-11:30 Group reflection and key takeaways 
• 11:30 End of the programme