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.

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

Program draft 1 Dec. 2025: 

The schedule is tentative and may be subject to change,

February 3: Öpiku konverentsikeskus 

• 9:00-11:15 Eckerö M/S Finlandia Helsinki-Tallinn 

• 12:30-12:45 Arrival at Öpiku konverentsikeskus, Valukoja 8 

• 12:45-13:10 Welcoming words and Ülemiste City presentation, Madis Judanov 

• 13:10-13:30 InnoCities Finnish Delegation 

• 13:30-14:00 Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Sigrid Rajalo 

• 14:00-14:30 Startup Estonia, Vaido Mikheim 

• 14:30-15:00 Coffee break 

• 15:00-16:00 City of Tallinn, Mark-Emil Talivere 

• 16:00-17:00 Open roundtable conversations with participants 
  
  Delegation joint dinner at 19:00. Venue to be confirmed. 

February 4: Site visits in Tallinn (timing and order to be confirmed) 

• FinEst Centre for Smart Cities  

• Tehnopol business services (tbc) 

• Tehnopol startup incubator (tbc) 

• Lunch 

• Company visits with Finnish Food Delegation (tbc) 

• Joint dinner (tbc) 

February 5: 

• 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 

• 13:30-15:30 Tallink ferry to Helsinki