Aktiver Wissenstransfer - Active Knowledge Transfer Graz

This innovation support programme has been offered for several years by the Technology Transfer Office (TT) of Graz University of Technology in co-operation with Karl-Franzens-University Graz. It is funded by the City Council of Graz, department of business development. This programme addresses primarily small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Graz region which do not have, so far, direct links to the academic world. Companies are identified using computer-aided marketing tools (company databases, research directories) and are offered brief audits "on the shop-floor" to identify problems which may be solved using academic expertise available in the region. At the same time company executives are informed about potential regional experts (university staff, experts from research centres and economic promotion agencies, as well as in other SMEs) and ways and costs of collaboration. As an additional feature, relevant funding information is provided. Moreover SMEs are given the opportunity to give presentations at an annual recruiting event at TU Graz, called "Small Can Do It All".