Sander: Obama's Research Policy Strengthening Danish-American Cooperation

– President Barack Obama's new research and innovation strategy will clearly strengthen Danish-American cooperation, said Science Minister Helge Sander during a visit to the United States by the Danish Parliament's Science Committee, giving a speech at the University of California, in Berkeley near San Francisco, to the university management and expatriate Danish researchers.

– Our intellectual capital in the energy area is now getting fresh impetus and can interact with the knowledge possessed by leading U.S. researchers – and this is quite significant as 99 per cent of the new knowledge that we use in the public and private sectors derives from abroad, said Helge Sander.

President Obama has just presented his budget proposal for 2010, calling for the national research budget to be increased by 16 per cent in relation to 2008 - including more money for strategic research in climate and energy areas.

In three years, the Danish Innovation Center in Silicon Valley has created several relations to the many universities and enterprises in Western United States. One of its successes is the agreement with CITRIS at Berkeley, which gives researchers and PhD students from Denmark the opportunity to become visiting scholars at the university.

– This opportunity for exchange of researchers and students is of great value to Denmark. In addition, I hope that the growing cooperation between UC Berkeley, the Technical University of Denmark and the Danish Technological Institute will lead to joint projects on energy efficiency. And via this exchange of knowledge I hope that we can develop joint projects that will lead to more innovation, said Science Minister Helge Sander.

– Over the last 30 years Denmark has been able to ensure economic growth without more energy being consumed. During the first energy crisis in 1973, we were a country depending nearly 100 per cent on energy import from foreign sources. Today we are a net exporter of energy. Through research and development, green jobs can be created, said Helge Sander.

– I felt both during this visit and when discussing with the new administration in Washington that the United States is on a very positive path in terms of making world economy in the 21st century move towards pure energy. It is my hope that this new U.S. policy will become a driving force for an ambitious international agreement at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next December, says Science Minister Helge Sander.

Science Minister Helge Sander can be contacted via Communications Manager Niels Hovmand on mobile +45 40 82 89 58 or e-mail nho@vtu.dk.