29 March 2012

Radio programme discusses global trends within research policy

The recent radio programme “Research Policy – Global trends and new forms of collaboration” addresses the changes we will face within research policy. Professor Birger Lindberg Møller points out that “by sharing our knowledge openly we will enable more efficient and cross-disciplinary innovation”.

Denmark is within the top three when it comes to research among the European countries but we are lacking behind when it comes to exploiting our knowledge in comparison to the United States and Asia. Therefore from 2013 to 2020, the European Framework Programme Horizon 2020 will focus on a more efficient merger of research and innovation, and according to Prof. Susanna Borrás, the innovation element must be especially strengthened.

Prof. Lindberg Møller emphasizes that one of the problems in Europe,is the tendency to be reactionary, which means that new discoveries are not translated into products. This is costly for the stagnating European economies, since we are forced to import products from the United States and Asia instead of producing them ourselves. He foresees a change in the way knowledge will be distributed in the future, where there will be an increased tendency to share knowledge and patents according to the “bottom-up” principle: We each contribute with our parts of the puzzle. Sharing our knowledge openly will enable more efficient and cross-disciplinary innovation. As an example within nanoscience, Prof. Lindberg Møller mentions the American BioBrick Foundation. Here scientists can make various DNA building blocks available to all, which can then for instance lead to a more sufficient and less costly development of new pharmaceuticals.   

 

The programme was broadcasted on the 26th of March, 2012 and produced by Hanne Bærentzen in collaboration with the Danish Research Policy Council. In the programme the following are interviewed

  • Claus Hviid Christensen, Chairman for the Danish Research Policy Council.
  • Professor Susana Borrás, Department of Business and Politics, Copenhagen Business School (CBS).
  • Professor Birger Lindberg Møller, Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Copenhagen University.
  • Professor Knud Erik Jørgensen, Department of Political Science and Government, Aarhus University.