Danish Research Must be International

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The scientific revolution of the 1600s

The mathematicians, physicists, philosophers and astronomers of the 1600s changed the image of the world as it was known. Suddenly, the earth was no longer the centre of the universe.

The movement of the planets was calculated and mapped. The system of coordinates and logarithms were discovered and experimental physics began.

In the same period, Isaac Newton discovered gravity. But his discovery did not appear out of thin air. Newton himself said of his research – that he was standing on the shoulders of giants.

Newton studied the works of Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. He also closely followed the works of Italian scientist Galileo Galilei. And he drew inspiration from the German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler.

The globalisation of research is as much a given as the law of gravity. Scientific breakthroughs occur when the sharpest minds work together in cross border cooperation. Research is by definition international. Such was the case in the 1600s. And so it is still today.

The economic revolution of the 21st century

In the past two years, the financial crisis has dictated the political agenda in many countries. Also in Denmark. But in a hundred years from now, if historians look back on the 21st century the biggest revolution would hardly be the financial crisis.

Just as in the 1600s, there is a tremendous revolution taking place today. The western world is no longer the centre of the universe. Economically, politically and culturally we are seeing a change in the global centrepoint.

In the past few hundred years, the biggest value creation has taken place in Europe and North America, with the exception of Japan and some of the smaller countries in South East Asia.

But in the decades to come, the path of economic growth will pass through Shanghai, Mumbai, Santiago and Sao Paulo. The rest of the world is catching up and many countries are ready to surpass us.

The most dramatic example is China. China currently exports more in a single day than its total annual exports for 1978. In 1978 the country produced 200 air conditioning systems a year. Now, there are more than 50 million produced annually.

Shanghai's financial district, which is lit up like a giant Christmas tree every night, has become eight times larger than London's financial hub in just a few years.

In 2025, it's expected that Asia will account for 61 per cent of the world's population. Only 6.5 per cent will live in Europe, and of those, a third will be more than 65 years old.

Unlike Europe, Asian countries will have a large youth population. It is estimated that no less than 645,000 Chinese and 300,000 Indian students will study at foreign universities by 2025. By then, Asia is also expected to be the preferred location of the corporate community for their research and development activities.

Danish research must be international

As the scientific revolution challenged the perception of the world in the 1600s, so the new economic reality is challenging the western world today. Denmark is challenged. If Denmark is to compete internationally, we must be hard-working, wise and inventive.

Our starting point is a highly-knowledgeable and adaptive society, which makes us an attractive partner for cooperation. But the world has changed and challenges and opportunities are being found in new locations. We need to stay informed of these developments. Which is why the globalisation of Danish research must be increased.

The Danish National Research Foundation has an international aim to a great extent. This can be seen through the foundation's co-financing with foreign foundations, intiatives such as visiting professors and the special efforts to recruit talent to research centres.

With the opportunity to target investments in this way, the Danish National Research Foundation can play a role in the globalisation and perhaps lead the way for increasing internationalisation of Danish research.

The Danish National Research Foundation is raising the level of research in Denmark with its Centers of Excellence. They contribute research at an international level, and also provide an optimal framework for the education of the first-class researchers of tomorrow.

With their high quality of research, the centres are natural collaborators for researchers abroad; while also attracting top researchers and foreign talent to Denmark.

This was proven most thoroughly just three weeks ago – when this year's Nobel Prize winners were announced. The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Dale T. Mortensen, together with two colleagues.

And I cannot neglect to mention that the Danish National Research Foundation has supported Dale T. Mortensen as a Niels Bohr Visiting Professor at Aarhus University, where he is researching labour market dynamics and growth.

During his time in Denmark, Dale T. Mortensen has emphasised cooperation and has previously said:

"Research is ultimately a common effort and few researchers create groundbreaking research all by themselves. It is important to gather good researchers together so they can cooperate, build further on each other's results and pose the key questions in a dynamic collaboration."

This statement falls completely in line with the philosophy behind the Danish National Research Foundation.

The world has changed

Our world seems familiar and unchanged. But in fact, it is very different.

• The wealthiest man in the world today is Mexican.
• The tallest building in the world is in Dubai and overshadows the next tallest building in Taiwan by 300 metres.
• The largest planes in the world are being built in Russia and the Ukraine.
• The biggest film industry is in Bollywood, Mumbai and not in Hollywood.
• India is building the world's largest sun telescope at the foot of the Himalayan mountains to study the sun's surface
• Brazil is the world's biggest exporter of bioethanol and almost all cars in Brazil have been converted to run on the fuel.
• And the world's largest gaming mecca is no longer Las Vegas, but Macau in China.

It leaves one short of breath! The rules have changed. The world has changed.

There is no shortcut to growth

I would like to return to Newton. Like other scientists of his time, Newton also explored alchemy and was obsessed by the thought of creating gold.

As you know, he did not succeed. And we should not count on similar shortcuts to growth and prosperity. There are no shortcuts. Knowledge is the foundation for growth.

So, we must create the best framework for education, innovation and research of the highest quality. We must be international because there is no doubt that the globalisation of Danish research is an important pre-requisite to securing and developing our positions of strength.

I wish you all a very successful annual meeting.