It is crucial that Danish education and research institutions, innovation actors, companies and authorities have access to networks, knowledge and cooperation with countries in and outside Europe.
The Ministry of Higher Education and Science (UFM) in Denmark is responsible for and develops a number of initiatives aimed at increasing networking and knowledge exchange between Danish and foreign research and knowledge environments and innovation actors:
- Bilateral agreements on education and research cooperation with the largest research and technology nations outside the EU.
- Establishment of Innovation Centres in leading research and innovation environments abroad.
- Partnership agreements for research stays.
- Supporting and participating in other ministries' intergovernmental co-operation, as in South Africa.
Innovation Centre Denmark (ICDK)
The Ministry of Education and Research, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has established seven Innovation Centres. The centres are located in Munich, Tel Aviv, Bangalore, Seoul, Shanghai, Boston and Silicon Valley. The Innovation Centres work to promote international networking of research and higher education institutions and companies.
The aim is to build bridges to some of the strongest partners in research, higher education and business development in some of the world's leading innovation environments. Focus areas for the centres include green technologies, information and communication technologies, and health and biotechnology. The Ministry of Education and Research has a posted innovation attaché at each of the seven Innovation Centres.
Bilateral agreements
The Ministry of Higher Education and Science has signed bilateral cooperation agreements with the USA, China, Japan, Germany, South Korea, India, Brazil, Israel, South Africa and Turkey. The agreements facilitate and promote contacts between authorities and research funding actors and create opportunities for researchers and high-tech companies to collaborate across countries. Possible outreach and networking activities include: exchanges of researchers, workshops and project collaboration. The latter are funded by Innovation Fund Denmark, which has agreements with five of these countries (USA, China, India, Brazil and South Korea).
Global Innovation Network Programme
The Global Innovation Network Programme supports networking activities between Danish and foreign research and innovation actors.
- Read about the Global Innovation Network Programme here