FEATURE
The Minister for Research, Innovation and Higher Education in Denmark talks to Projects Magazine about how the Danish government aims to boost Denmark’s research capacity over the next few years
INVESTING IN FUTURE RESEARCH SUCCESS
H
aving universities that are financially capable of being excellent research facilities and communities has been one of the cornerstones of Denmark’s success in research in recent years. So says Morten
Østergaard, Denmark’s Minister for Research, Innovation and Higher Education as he talks about how his country consistently appears at the top of Europe’s research league tables. “These universities attract the top researchers, who in turn provide good results and a higher level of education and the new government has also promised to further strengthen research appropriations for our more successful universities in the coming years. “We have developed many good instruments to
encourage excellence,” he continues. “The Danish Research Council gives very large and lasting grants to the most talented researchers, and then we have the Strategic Research Council that provides grants for projects that are in areas of particular interest.” Overall, Denmark has a broad spectrum in terms of
how it supports research, based on a foundation of strong universities which the new government is pledged to continue improving under a bold new set of
initiatives.
Laying the path to an innovative future Another key point that helps the Danish research system is the country’s business structure. Fifteen of the largest 20 companies in Denmark are owned by foundations that provide many research grants. “For example, some of our largest pharmaceutical companies are owned by foundations that finance a lot of research,” explains Østergaard. “Of course, they
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tend to invest mostly in areas which they have a particular interest in, but they also do a lot of basic research because they understand the importance of having an impact on education, for example by creating new masters degrees. It is in the interest of these companies to see students coming out of universities with very high levels of education, and they realise that the best way to do this is to be directly involved.” In the coming years, Østergaard hopes to develop
Denmark’s very first innovation strategy, which will help to give a better division of labour between government appropriations, university appropriations and private money from foundations. “We hope to develop a new strategic level that will help to boost us further,” he explains. “Our innovation council has also spent a lot of money on instruments designed to further innovation, and this is why the EU currently sees us as one of its innovation leaders.”
Business and research working in harmony There is one area in which Østergaard would like to see major improvement – the way in which businesses and universities collaborate, and this is something he will be focusing on in the coming years. “Through the innovation research council, we are financing some government-approved technology centres that are spread over the country that will be working on technology transfer,” he explains. “It will also be funding what we call ‘science pilots’, in which companies that don’t have academics working for them will be offered the chance to have one working for them for a while. In most cases, the companies go on to not only hire the academic, but also hire others,
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