The ASCENT kick-off meeting and study visit took place from the 12th until the 15th of March 2018 in Graz/Austria. The consortium took the possibility to get to know each other and work on a dynamic start of the project. Further, it was an essential aim of this meeting to talk about the objectives of the project and make sure that there is a common understanding of the achievements that should be reached during the project duration. Given the fact that Austria and especially the region of Styria has a very strong focus on automotive engineering, the coordinator took the possibility to give a more detailed insight in the national/local industry and show practices on how universities and companies work together on a national/local platform to increase the employability of students. Generally, the meeting was a huge success and the consortium is looking forward to the upcoming challenges and implementation of the ASCENT project.