Check against delivery.
Thank you for inviting me today. And for letting me send you into this day of big ideas and innovative solutions with a few words.
Today is about knowledge-based innovation. It’s about turning research into a promising prototype. It’s about turning your ideas into a business.
And potentially scaling that business into something that can compete on the Danish, European and even global markets.
Time to wake up
It all starts with an idea. And then it grows from there. Maybe after today some of your ideas will be a bit closer to something tangible. Something solid.
But every single idea and pitch today also play into the larger ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship – not just in Denmark but all over Europe.
And we need good ideas in Europe right now.
Mario Draghi’s report on European competitiveness was a much-needed wake up call for Europe. I think we can all agree on that.
The American tariffs and general policy shift were a much less needed wake up call – but it has certainly added to the sense of urgency.
Europe needed to wake up. To take our security, economy and future into our own hands. That is indisputable.
But we need to be careful and not panic. After the Draghi-report the conclusion almost seems to be that Europe can’t do anything other than regulate bottle caps. And that is simply not true.
The conclusion from Draghi is not to go home and give up.
He sets a clear strategy on how to move forward. How to make Europe stronger and more independent.
And we need to remember why we’re doing it. We need to remember why it’s important.
For this I would like to quote another proud European, Donald Tusk, who said:
”Europe is not old, haggard or barren. Europe is young, dynamic and vital. Our continent remains the best place in the world to live”.
This was true in 2015 when he said it and it is still true.
Modern Europe was built on freedom, trading, democracy and human rights. This is what we’re protecting. We want to remain the best societies to live in.
This also means that when other parts of the world waver on fundamental principles like democracy or academic freedom we must stand even more firm. Our values and ideals are not up for negotiation.
To protect them we need a strong economy.
What has become painfully clear these last few years is that Europe is too dependent on energy, technology and security from other parts of the world. This needs to change. We need to strengthen our competitiveness and ensure economic growth.
And this is where start-ups and innovation come in.
The universities play a crucial role in the value chain of commercialising research results and creating start-ups. We can do more when it comes to translating promising results from research projects into commercial value.
Two of the main obstacles preventing Europe from fully harnessing its potential right now are unnecessary red tape and limited access to risk-willing capital for upscaling.
Realising our potential
This room today is full of brainpower. And there are lots of rooms like this all over Europe. Maybe they have slightly less brainpower than this particular room – but all in all we have the talent and the great ideas on our continent.
But we struggle to keep it here.
Let’s say one of the startups here today has a new technology prototype.
Today they meet the right investor. They build a business together. The business grows. And after a year or two the business moves to Silicon Valley. Because that’s where the tech industry lives. There’s a better network, fewer regulations, an easier accessible market.
This is not an unlikely story. It happens all the time. There’s a reason only four of the world’s top 50 tech companies are European.
Europe has fallen into a middle-tech trap where we invest in incremental innovation. Instead of emerging cutting-edge high-tech sectors.
Private funding, especially for future emerging technologies, is crucial to escape this trap.
We need to set a much clearer strategical direction. We need to invest in quantum, AI, biotech and space technologies. Alongside private stakeholders like businesses and foundations.
And we need new initiatives to ensure that businesses choose to stay and grow in Europe. The European Commission has an upcoming strategy for start-ups and scale-ups and I welcome this.
We cannot rely on Danish and European entrepreneurs having enough European patriotism to stay here. We need to make it more attractive.
In 2024, the government launched a national entrepreneurship strategy aimed at harnessing the potential on Danish universities.
By reviewing existing legislation and improving the opportunities for the universities to establish innovation hubs on their campuses, we are working to improve the framework for collaboration between academia and industry.
The government and a broad majority of the Danish Parliament have also prioritized 115 million DKK to strengthen knowledge-based innovation at the Danish universities. And we have allocated additional 500 million DKK to boost the research and innovation effort.
We are also working on building a new Innovation District for life sciences and quantum technology in the center of Copenhagen. This is another very concrete effort to create the right physical conditions for innovation.
It's about more than economy
There are also many things we can do on a European level.
Fully realising the European Research Area for instance. This is the idea to create a single, borderless market for research, innovation and technology across the EU.
That would be a very powerful framework for innovation.
Europe should also seek to provide easier access to publicly funded research and open data to accelerate innovation.
All in all, inter-European collaboration is the key. We should continue to create strong networks among innovation hubs, academia and industry across Europe.
Overall there is a lot we can do to make Denmark and Europe a better place for start-ups and entrepreneurs. And we are working on it.
Because we need them. We need you. And we have a lot to offer in return.
The European promise is more than profits and a competitive edge.
It’s a set of fundamental rights and ideals that doesn’t change based on who’s in government. It’s well-functioning societies that balance personal freedom and social security. It’s the best place in the world to live.
Thank you to DTU for always prioritising entrepreneurship. And good luck to all the start-ups on your pitches today.
All of your ideas – from the smallest tech gadgets to the biggest green solutions – are proof of European vitality, innovation and strength.
Thank you.