This time, in Brussels, the PSD delegation visited the Free University of Brussels Solvay Business School Entrepreneurship center, SYNTRA Flemish center for entrepreneurship training, EURADA, EUROCHAMBERS, DG Enterprise, European Vocational Training Association, and European Business Innovation Network Center (EBN).

Visit to these institutions provided a valuable exchange of experience related to activities aimed to support SME development. Project partners established contacts and investigated possibilities such as: increase of the business cooperation between SMEs and to optimize the cooperation in the Border Regions with European networks supporting entrepreneurial initiatives, supporting and promoting international technology transfer alongside with the capability to absorb innovations and to adjust academic and entrepreneurial R&D results and innovation in certain areas of activity, exchanging the experience related to SME training═and vocational education, etc.

In Amsterdam, the private sector development delegation visited Free University Amsterdam, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, iMMovator Cross Media Network, Development Agency East Netherlands (Oost NV) and Food Valley Wageningen.

Furthermore, stakeholders were introduced to Business and Technology Park Twente, Investment and Development Agency for the Northern Netherlands. Primary goal of the visit was exchange of information about development of business technology parks. Experiences in cluster development was exchanged and shall be used to start developing clusters in the WB region. In addition stakeholders had a fruitfull discussion with the Dutch Institute for Knowledge Intensive Entrepreneurship NIKOS on balanced regional development and improvement of the economic structure and regional employment.

The full Agenda of the Study Visit 2006 can be downloaded here.