The Øresund Region

Northern Europe’s powerhouse

By Jesper Løvenbalk Hansen

With the Øresund bridge, the Øresund region now has one of the world’s highest concentrations of knowledge and research institutions. Photo: Torben Åndahl, Scanpix Denmark

A high concentration of universities and research institutions combined with worldclass infrastructure has made the Øresund Region one of Europe’s most dynamic and innovative business regions

When the world map was spread out and the management of the world’s largest biotech company, Biogen Idec, pondered the right location for their European headquarters, the choice fell on Denmark.

For Biogen Idec the opportunities in Copenhagen and Medicon Valley, which is region with a worldclass position in the biotechnological and pharmaceutical field, were the major deciding factors when Denmark was chosen among a group of other nations. The company considered Denmark to have a number of competitive advantages including a highly educated workforce and a strong research climate in Medicon Valley.

Linda Nielsen, former rector of Copenhagen University, was one of the mainstays in designing Øresund University, a collaboration between the region’s 12 universities. Photo: Per Gudmann

Inspired by Silicon Valley, where the IT industry dominates an entire region of San Francisco Bay, the Øresund Region has become known as Medicon Valley among research scientists and companies in the medico-healthcare industry.

With the move to the Copenhagen area, Biogen Idec also chose to become neighbour to a number of other global players in the medico-healthcare industry such as Denmark’s Lundbeck Pharma and Novo Nordisk.

“The more companies, the stronger the region. The concentration of companies in the same field is an advantage for us. It creates a pull effect on highly skilled labour in our field,” says Biogen Idec’s vice president and general manager in Denmark, Alasdair Shepherd.

SIZE MATTERS
In so saying, the management of Biogen Idec points out one of the two pillars in the Øresund Region’s construction: to reach the “critical mass” necessary to become an internationally attractive region, explains Professor Lise Lyck of Copenhagen Business School. She conducts research in regional development and has followed the Øresund Region’s evolution from the start.

“The first and most crucial thing was to get the region physically integrated with a bridge between Denmark and Sweden.  

In this respect the Øresund Region is unusual because it is a fusion of Denmark’s largest city and capital and Sweden’s third largest city, Malmö. It has thus become a model region for the whole of Europe,” says Lise Lyck.

The regional fusion became a reality in June 2000 when the Øresund Bridge, with 16 kilometres of combined motorway and railway, was completed. As an interconnected area, the Øresund region today has one of the world’s highest concentrations of knowledge and research institutions. There are six science parks, 12 universities and more than 12,000 esearchers and 6,500 PhDs in the region. It has brought Copenhagen up among the leading European cities in terms of ability to attract companies, and is surpassed only by London, Paris and Berlin in attracting direct foreign investment.

THE ØRESUND REGION The Øresund region is built up around six local clusters where the region is especially strong. The common objective is to promote innovation and growth through collaboration in each cluster. Read more about Øresund Science Region at: http://www.oresundscienceregion.org A shared feature of these clusters is that they are supported by organisations that promote crossborder collaboration between industry, universities and authorities. MEDICO/BIOTECH The Øresund Region is Scandinavia’s largest pharmaceutical and biotech centre. In medical and biotech research, the region ranks third in Europe, surpassed only by London and Paris. Network organisation: Medicon Valley Academy: http://www.mva.org IT/TELECOMMUNICATIONS The Øresund Region’s IT and telecommunications industry employs about 104,000 people, and the region has the largest concentration of IT competences in Scandinavia. Network organisation: Øresund IT Academy http://www.oresundit.org FOOD Most of the main companies in the food industry are present in the Øresund Region. The food industry is strongly exportoriented and encompasses everything from international giants to niche companies in the development of functional foods. Network organisation: Øresund Food Network http://www.oresundfood.org ENVIRONMENT In the environmental area, the Øresund Region excels in waste management, water and marine environment, energy, policy planning and consultancy. Network organisation: Øresund Environment Academy http://www.oresund-environment.org LOGISTICS The Øresund Region’s geographical location as a gateway to the Baltic Sea and a North European hub has made the Øresund Region a logistics centre. The Øresund Region is the biggest in Scandinavia in terms of goods handling. Network organisation: Øresund Logistics: http://www.orelog.org DESIGN Innovative design has a proud tradition in the Øresund Region. Several design classics have originated here as well as several latterday export successes – from furniture and porcelain to computer games. Network organisation: Øresund Design http://www.oresunddesign.org The Øresund Region is easily accessible from anywhere in the world. Copenhagen Airport has direct flights to more than 130 different destinations and is one of Northern Europe’s largest airports. 65 of the world’s largest companies have established headquarters in the Nordic region, of which 26 are in the Øresund Region. The number of head offices has doubled in the last seven years. According to a statement from Ernst & Young, Copenhagen attracted 50% of all new Nordic head offices in 2004. And according to The Economist, Denmark offers the world’s best business environment.

ØRESUND SCIENCE REGION
If only size was the crucial factor, the Øresund region with its 3.5 million inhabitants would probably not have become the global player it is.

The challenge from the start has been to get the region’s players to talk to each other and act according to the same objectives. That is the other pillar in the construction of an internationally competitive region. So explains Linda Nielsen, former rector of the region’s largest university, Copenhagen University.

“The special ingredient is our model for collaboration, involving the region’s private sector companies, public sector authorities and the knowledge and research institutions,” says Linda Nielsen, who refers to the three-part integration model as the “triple helix”.

One consequence is that the Swedish and Danish authorities collaborate on creating optimal framework conditions for growth and development in the region. The challenge is to create a shared labour market, a common tax policy and define joint objectives regarding investments in infrastructure and research.

Some of the most specific results are the creation of a number of platforms where private sector companies, researchers and public sector authorities exchange ideas, objectives and needs.

“In terms of research, the Øresund Science Region is constructed as a number of science platforms, where the region is especially strong. We have become one of the most interesting regions in IT, medico-healthcare, logistics, food and environment,” says Linda Nielsen.

As the former rector of Copenhagen University, Linda Nielsen was one of the mainstays in designing the Øresund University, one of the initiatives that binds the region from the bottom up:

“The Øresund University is a collaboration between the region’s 12 universities. All the region’s 150,000 students have access to all courses offered at all universities. It has created an enormous exchange between the various subjects, and gives the region a strong foundation for new thinking and innovation,” says Linda Nielsen, who points out that the Øresund Region is thus setting new standards for collaboration and regional development in the EU.

Biogen Idec’s vice president and general manager in Denmark, Alasdair Shepherd, finds that the concentration of companies in the same field in the region is an advantage to Biogen.

EUROPEAN MODEL REGION
OECD shares this opinion. In a study, it calls the Øresund Region “a worldclass centre ... a flagship and a model for Europe’s regions.”

And when the EU Commission awarded the first RegioStars prizes in February this year, the Øresund region was honoured with the prize as the EU’s best region in the category “supporting clusters and business networks”.

What both OECD and the EU take special note of is the Øresund Region’s ability to bring the collaboration between public and private sector players across the border between two EU countries.

Biogen Idec is currently expanding with new facilities that will be inaugurated in November this year, enabling Biogen Idec to take on an additional 150 staff.

“I think the Danish government is doing the right thing in attracting specific clusters to the region. I think it makes absolute sense to have one or more local clusters that profile the region,” says Biogen Idec’s director in Denmark, Alasdair Shepherd.