Minister for Higher Education and Science Christina Egelund's speech at kick-off event for DefenceTech Denmark January 14th 2026.
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We are meeting at a moment of profound change. That should be painfully clear to anyone who has followed the news even briefly in recent days.
The world we operate in today is fundamentally different from the one we knew just a few years ago. It is more unstable. Alliances are shifting, technologies are advancing rapidly, and the distance between innovation and conflict has become dramatically shorter. We are facing multiple and diverse threats, often simultaneously.
This has changed many things – maybe not as fast as we could have hoped. But it has certainly changed our approach to research and innovation. In Denmark and in Europe. And this is partly because technology has moved to the very centre of security and defence policy.
Defence used to be about military hardware. Man power and firing power. But today, defence is just as much about data, software, cyber resilience, artificial intelligence, advanced materials, space. And, crucially, about the ability to integrate innovation into defence faster than those who threaten our security.
In this reality, technological strength is national strength. We have taken a big step with the new Danish political research agreement. The first paragraph of the deal mentions both security, critical technology and defence.
This is a clear reprioritisation compared to previous years – and it is also the first research agreement where we prioritise funding for 4 years into the future.
This says something about the importance of the work that all of you do.
We have also opened up parts of the grand European research programme, Horizon Europe, to dual-use projects. I believe that the upcoming Horizon Europe should be open to dual-use projects by default.
For a small country like Denmark, the new world order means we have both an obligation and an opportunity.
We have world-class research environments. We have innovative start-ups and highly specialised companies. We have technologies that are globally competitive, for instance in quantum and space.
But too much of this potential has remained untapped when it comes to defence and security.
Not because Danish companies lack ideas or capabilities – far from it.
But because the defence market is complex, highly regulated and difficult to navigate, particularly when it comes to procurement, implementation and scaling.
And as a result, many companies choose to stay away – even when their technologies could make a real and positive difference.
That is why I am very pleased to be part of this kick-off event today for DefenceTech Denmark.
This initiative is about lowering barriers and opening doors – and most importantly: scale and implementation.
To drive technological change, we need structured pathways from innovation to adoption. We need to build durable bridges between research, industry and defence. And between civilian technologies and real military needs.
DefenceTech Denmark brings everyone together in the same room in an effort to accelerate what works and to connect what has too often been fragmented.
I think it is important to say, that this is not about militarising the research and innovation sector.
But we need to recognise that innovation already shapes security, whether we engage with it or not.
We can no longer rely on security, technology or energy from other parts of the world. We need our own long-term capacity in all of these fields.
Ultimately, it is about responsibility. A responsibility to take our security and future into our own hands. And this also means protecting our society and using our technology wisely.
The events in the beginning of this year have shown that we need the capacity to act – rather than react.
Defence Tech Denmark represents a commitment to a clear direction for Danish security. To a more integrated, agile and resilient defence ecosystem. A commitment that I wholeheartedly share.
The world has become significantly more unstable in recent years. In recent days, really.
And while none of us can know with certainty where the future will take us, we do know this: We cannot afford to arrive there unprepared.
The Danish physicist Niels Bohr supposedly said that prediction is difficult, especially when it comes to the future.
But let me instead leave you with the words of the computer scientist Alan Kay, who said:
“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”
Thank you.
