oresund university annual review 2008

ØU AnnUAl Review2008

ØU AnnUAl Review - 2008 3

4 ØU AnnUAl Review - 2008

FoRewoRd by the pResidency

The Øresund Region is an international boundary region in Europe. The Øresund University and Øresund Science Region not only cross boundaries between uni-versities and between academia, industry and authorities, but also between two countries.In the global competition between the major markets to the west and east of Europe all the internal boundaries of the EU are seen as a serious disadvan-tage, and the fragmentation within the EU is regarded as a considerable obsta-cle to competition. The EU consists of 27 different university systems – despite Bologna – (at least) 27 different innovation systems and financing sources.

The focus in Europe will therefore be concentrated on measures to increase research, innovation and training cooperation internationally. The European Institute of Innova-tion and Technology is one example of this. Another is the so-called KIC’ s (Knowledge and Innovation Communities). A third example is the increase in subsidies in Interreg IV, which succeeded Interreg III in 2008 and the opportunities this opens up. “The fifth freedom” will become the freedom of researchers throughout Europe.ØU/ØSR (Øresund University/Øresund Region) has every chance of playing a leading role in a Europe that wants to reduce fragmentation. The fact that in 2008 we won the RegioStar Award bears witness to these opportunities, and we are convinced that ØU/ØSR will take them.

Consequently we have also devoted a considerable amount of time during the year to planning projects for Interreg IV, and we have developed a positive, coordinated process which has resulted in a number of projects. Due to delays in the administrative Inter-reg procedure it has only been possible for a small number of projects to be approved: Roskilde University – Malmö University cooperation and a wind power project between Lund University and Technical University of Denmark. However, the planning process will result in a large number of projects in 2009. Two major projects in nano and logis-tics were provisionally granted funding in December 2008. Altogether the projects are worth about 10 million Euros.

During the year the secretariat moved its Copenhagen office from Ørestad to central Copenhagen in a building on Nørre Voldgade with a 150 year history. The new premises are central, suitable for the purpose and provide more of a Copenhagen atmosphere than the concrete of Ørestad. We wish the secretariat every success in the new premises!

Copenhagen University has been ØU/ØSR’s Danish host university since the begin-ning, but Roskilde University will take over as host on 1 January 2009. The adminis-trative work that is involved in moving financial resources and staff from KU to RUC has gone smoothly, and it has been clearly demonstrated that ØU/ØSR are welcome in Roskilde. We congratulate RUC on the new acquisition within its academic landscape!


ØU/ØSR’s director Bengt Streijffert resigned due to age on 31 December 2008 after over eleven years’ service, that is to say the entire life of ØU/ØSR. We wish him well and warmly welcome his successor!

Lund University will have a new vice-chancellor on 1 January 2009. RUC will take over the Danish presidency. Consequently, the organization will have new chairman, vice chairman and director.

We therefore conclude as chairman and vice-chairman, submit the annual reports for 2008 and thank you for your time.

Ralf HemmingsenVice Chancellor, Copenhagen University

göRan BexellVice Chancellor, lund University


ØResUnd UniveRsity 2008The year 2008 we saw a continued expansion of university cooperation. Øresund Entrepreneurship Academy has developed and the overall project portfolio has grown. The cooperation with Øresund Science Region has meant continuing joint activities of member universities. Institutional cooperation between Malmö and Roskilde universities has resulted in a joint educational programme and collabora-tion between the university libraries has been initiated.

AccoMplished obJectives FoR ØResUnd UniveRsityØresund University is the collaboration between the universities in the Danish-Swedish Øresund Region. ØU was founded in 1997 and it is one of the leading actors in re-gional development and innovation.

ØU deals with questions about student mobility, facilitates projects between industry and academia, works for enhanced entrepreneurial training and is the region’s partner in knowledge-based projects and activities. ØU contributes to knowledge-based economic growth in the region.

-”Strengthen the efficiency and quality in education, research and other tasks in develop-ment, cooperation and mutual influence”

Øresund University created an entrepreneurship academy in 2006 which promotes in-tegrated entrepreneurship educations at the universities. In 2008 the Academy received substantial funding for its projects at the member universities. Their main focus during the year was infrastructure, education development, networking and international ac-tivities as well as marketing and promotion.

-”Strengthen collaboration across the university structures by encouraging contacts that reduce barriers and improve conditions for mobility, thus paving the way for European university cooperation.”

Together with the Øresund Committee, ØU finalized a large study on students’ com-muting. ØU also arranged the Øresund Summer University during the summer months, however, it was for various reasons decided that this activity would not be carried out next year.

“Playing a crucial role in the development and integration in the Øresund region including through ownership of Øresund Science Region.”

ØU participated in a large number of cross-border activities that took place in the re-gion. Regional governments, organizations and businesses have close cooperation in the Øresund Region, and ØU provides support by strengthening contacts between them. ØU also participates as an active partner in cooperation.

There is a general willingness to collaborate by actors on all levels in the region, but the most prominent example of cross border collaboration is the Øresund Science Region


(ØSR), working with the region’s strongholds; IT, logistics, food and environment. ØSR initiates, leads and governs projects and initiatives between adademia, businesses and authorites in a triple-helix model.

-”Making the university environment in the region more attractive overall, not least in an international context.”

ØU invested in branding and marketing and participated in numerous exhibitions throughout Europe and consequently received much attention.ØU’s web portal Studygateway continued to inform students about university studies across borders. A project for improvement of the web portal was initiated and will con-tinue to be developed next year.

“Attract additional resources to member universities”

ØU has worked intensively with Interreg IV and has a large number of projects to be applied. Also, Øresund Entrepreneurship Academy has been able to distribute substan-tial amounts to the member universities.

inteRnAtionAl collAboRAtionØU is primarily a regional cooperation but has contacts both in Europe and outside Europe, especially in Asia and USA. The contacts can be found in networks, projects, agreements, or are more temporary in the form of delegation visits. ØU has thus an increased global outreach and received during the year a large number of international delegations.

the nordic countries. A collaboration has begun with Northern Jutland/ Aalborg and its universities with aim to develop a larger project for cooperation in the field of nano science.

europe. European Innovation Alliance, EIA, is a network between organizations / authorities with a dozen members. Members include actors from Stockholm, Helsinki. Munich, Cambridge, Lyon, Budapest, Milan and Barcelona, all of which are among Europe’s most innovative regions. During the year 2009, the chair is held by Budapest. Next year ØSR holds chair for EIA and in 2010 we invite to the annual conference which will be arranged in Øresund.

UsA. The student exchange agreement between the University of North Carolina (UNC) and Øresund University was renewed during the year.

Asia. During the year, ØU developed the agreement with Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks that was initiated already in 2005. The agreement concerns foremost collaboration between science parks – utilizing the soft landing model. Its aim is to facilitate mobility of companies from Øresund to establish branches/offices in Hong Kong - and vice versa. Within the Øresund Entrepreneurship Academy, the successful entrepreneurship student exchange between Øresund and Hong Kong was repeated from previous years.


The EU funded Interreg project, Strategies for Øresund/East Asia, with the objective to strengthen the links between Øresund and Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, was finalized with the project deadline in July. The project resulted in a feasibility report that can act as a guide for the regions to better collaborate in a wide range of areas; from life sciences to clean tech in an international platform. The project results were dissemi-nated at a seminar in Turning Torso in May, and were highlighted in both Swedish and Danish press.

edUcAtionAl coopeRAtion Øresund University is working for seamless mobility for students between the universities in the region. This cooperation has been developed under the um-brella of ØU for over more than 10 years and today an increasing number of students are choosing to do part or all of their studies on their other side of the sound. ØU has been recognised internationally as one of the very few suc-cessful examples of international educational cooperation.

In 2008 the educational cooperation in Øresund consisted primarily of lobby work to reduce barriers for student mobility, initiating a variety of projects for increased educa-tional collaboration as well as managing the Øresund Entrepreneurship Academy.

Market-driven mobility across Øresund. Students themselves seek entire courses on the other side of Øresund. This applies mainly to Swedish students, particularly from southern Sweden, who applies for courses in Copenhagen where places in Sweden are very lim-ited, for example medical and veterinary university courses.

curiosity-driven mobility. Students seek courses, seminars etc. which are not available at the home university or which supplement what they are offered at their home university.

Family-driven mobility. The Øresund Region is beginning to acquire a border population. This sometimes means that place of residence changes between the countries but not the place of study. This mobility is often driven by factors relating to the family.

organised cooperation. This form of cooperation can be found in joint courses and pro-grammes, or types of cooperation on for example the division of labour and joint offers in groups of subjects.

edUcAtionAl pRoJectsinstitutional cooperation between Malmö University and Roskilde University. Malmö University and Roskilde University introduced institutional cooperation within the framework of Interreg IVA. The project aims to create permanent exchange and cooperation in the fields of education, research and administration between the two universities. A coordi-nator from the ØU secretariat was appointed to coordinate the cooperation.


travel expenses. In May, the result of a study conducted by Øresund University, together with the Øresund Committee, on students’ concept of the relationship between price and travel in the region was published. The results of the study clearly show that price together with travel time, travel quality and the possibilities of a better education are decisive factors in the decision of students to commute. Measures that improve relation-ships between any of these factors therefore contribute to increased student mobility. Based on analyses of the significance of different factors, the willingness to pay for factors additional to price, and the probability that commuting will vary according to different factors, price together with better education appears to be the most important factor in commuting. This is followed by travel time, then travel quality. The work on travel expenses will continue into next year.

Øresund Master of european studies. Øresund Master of European Studies is a new pro-gram of courses organized between Malmö University and Roskilde University. The program focuses on culture, communication, politics and the public sphere. Courses are organized around European identity, the role of Europe in a globalised world, and European political transformations. The program stresses practical skills with regard to communication and media. The first semester focuses on European history of ideas, Europe and international relations, and research design. The second semester focuses on culture and communication in Europe with courses given in English, German or French (elective). The third semester contains courses on the media with regard to poli-tics and identity, including practical work with digital media. During the last semester (Roskilde) students prepared their Master’s Thesis.

library cooperation. The Interreg period of the Øresund book loan project, Bookbridge, ended during the year. The seven libraries that participated in the project undertook during the autumn to continue financing the project together with Øresund University. In October a conference was held for the libraries which presented the project, with lecturers from, among other places, OCLC in Great Britain and the University of Penn-sylvania, who is running a similar project.


eU stAR Region

Øresund University was acknowledged by the EU when the Øresund Science Region was rewarded the Commission’s RegioStars award for its work. In com-petition with 70 other projects, ØSR won in the category “Best Supporting Clusters and Business Networks”.

For ØSR to be chosen as a model for Europe is a great success for the seven-year project. The prize was awarded to ØSR for its work to develop networks and collaborations in a cross border region. This was further proof that the work of so-called triple helix, i.e. to bring together universities and governments with business, is a successful concept. Since the organization spans both sides of the border between Sweden and Denmark, the term “double triple helix” is often used to describe the model in Øresund.

the independent expert jury for Regio stars motivated its choice as follows:

“This project has had real impact and has overcome language, legislative and physical barriers by building inter-regional partnerships that had previously been non-existent. It is an excellent example of a bottom-up triple helix approach. The project has a good administrative foundation, good working partnerships and is a good example of successful networking”.


ØResUnd entRepReneURship AcAdeMy

By the end of 2008 the first period of the Øresund Entrepreneurship Academy ended and new start has begun. The Academy has now consolidated itself in the area of en-trepreneurship education at the universities and is regarded as an important player not only in the Øresund region but also on national and international levels.

The Academy has established many, good working collaborations which have added to the fact that the Academy has been able to start a lot of exciting activities: a large number of new courses, competitions and events for students, teach-the-teacher activi-ties, a network for people from the business sector who want to teach, and so on. All these activities are means to reach the overall goal of the Academy which is to motivate students to educate themselves within the field of entrepreneurship and in that way generate competences on which economic growth in the Øresund Region as well as in Denmark and Sweden can be based.

Studies show that the region is in the middle of a positive development indicated by an increasing number of courses and a growing number of students who choose en-trepreneurship courses. In concrete terms: since the establishment of the Academy the Øresund Region has achieved that several thousand new students have gained entrepre-neurial competencies. The Academy is proud of having contributed to this development through its work and many activities at the universities.

However, there is still a long way to go if the Øresund Region shall be able to compare itself internationally and fulfil the objective of growth in the region. It is an area that still demands a considerable effort. Swedish and the Danish governments as well as the local authorities in the region are positive towards this. In the future, the Academy will work ambitiously to lift the focus on entrepreneurship at the universities to a level compara-ble to the best universities in the world. The specific goal is that 15 % of the students in the region in 2015 will take entrepreneurship courses during their education. In 2008 the most important activities of the Øresund Entrepreneurship Academy were:

infrastructure

• Enlargement of the secretariats in Denmark and Sweden: employment of a project manager and a project assistant

• Preparation of a six months evaluation • Preparation of an annual evaluation • Sponsorships: value approximately DKK 30,000• Consultative work for the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation

(Forsknings- og Innovationsstyrelsen): DKK 75,000.


education – development and offers• Co-financing of 18 new courses and other educational initiatives at the universi-

ties in the region: DKK 1.5 million.• Financing of a student collaboration project• Elaboration of 2 reports not only mapping and categorizing entrepreneurship

courses offered in the region, but also including a list of number of participants in the courses

• Approximately 5 % of the students in the region do an entrepreneurship course during their studies

• Direct face-to-face contact meetings with teachers: 75.

networking and international activities • Direct face-to-face contact to approximately 10.000 students in the region• Establishment of a solid cooperation with the student organizations in the region• Consolidation of existing cooperation with international networks in Hong Kong,

Boston and San Sebastian• Participation with lectures at 25 greater national and international conferences• Establishment of the Minerva Bridge network – a network for people from the

business sector - and a database with more than 40 profiles • Elaboration of a concept for monthly encounters for teachers: Morning Entrepre-

neurial Education Encounters• Seminar on Practice & Entrepreneurship in cooperation with IDEA Copenhagen.

Marketing and promotion• Participation in 75 fairs • Mention of the Academy in written and electronic media: 95 times• Publication of 15 press releases related to special activities • Publication of 4 newsletters and a short update sent to more than 2.000 persons • 4 competitions and 1 campaign directed towards students• The web site www.oeacademy.org has on average 2.000 visitors per month • Co-publication with IDEA Copenhagen: Tværfaglighed & Entrepreneurship –

An anthology about interdisciplinarity in entrepreneurship education • 2 articles in acknowledged professional publications: GEM-anthology 2007 and

Université et entrepreneuriat.

This year has been characterised by an even stronger effort in order to reach the universi-ties with our message about entrepreneurship education to both teachers and students.


FUtURe peRspectiveAt the end of 2008 the frame agreement for Øresund Entrepreneurship Academy came to an end and hereby all financing agreements stopped. Just before the new year started new agreements were made for 2009.

In the future the work of the Academy will focus on the creation of a larger offer of entrepreneurship courses and a growing number of students following these. This also means that the educational competencies in the region must be increased.

The Academy has already started working on the achievement of the strategy, among others by the creation of the Minerva Bridge initiative and a series of morning encoun-ters for teachers. These activities will be intensified in 2009 and will focus even more on teach-the-teacher activities and the creation of new courses. At the same time the marketing of entrepreneurship courses with regard to students will be extended to com-prise viral marketing as well as the Academy will strive to become even more visible at the universities.


ØU oRgAnizAtion Øresund University is a contractual collaboration between eleven* universi-ties in the Øresund Region, seven of which are Danish universities and four are Swedish. The current agreement, which started in 2005, underwent minor changes in 2007 due to new constitution for the Øresund Science Region.

Administration and ManagementAs previous years, ØU had two host universities, University of Copenhagen and Lund University. The two host universities manage ØU’s finances in accordance with the re-spective university rules and practices, handle accounting, internal control, salaries and pensions, etc. The agreements govern the relationship with the host universities.

Decision-making and executive levels are the Chancellor’s Conference, the Vice-Chan-cellor Committee and the Secretariat.

ØU’s highest authority, the Chancellor’s Conference, which convened in accordance with agreements once during the year. Chancellor’s Committee met six times during the year and consisted of Ralf Hemmingsen (Copenhagen University), Göran Bexell (Lund University), Lennart Olausson (Malmö University), Poul Holm (Roskilde Uni-versity), Lars Carlsson (Kristianstad University College) and two students. Chairman of ØU was Ralf Hemmingsen with Göran Bexell as vice chairman. The CEO was Bengt Streijffert.

During the year, a new management agreement with Roskilde University was created, which comes into force January 2009.

policies and activitiesØU had the following policy areas in 2008:

ØU executive management and the educational secretariat: Executive management was responsible for management, finance, HR, secretarial service, etc. and is co-financed with the ØSR. The educational secretariat handled education issues such as Summer University, the web site Study Gateway and development of student cooperation across the region.

Øresund Science Region (ØSR). Øresund University’s focus on the linkages, networks and projects between universities, industry and government is managed within the ØSR. ØSR creates activities through four platforms within the IT, logistics, environmental and food areas. ØSR was founded in 2002 and is in constant development.

Øresund Entrepreneurship Academy (ØE). ØE was founded in 2006 but began its full activities in 2007. The main financiers are the two states, Region Skåne and ØU’s mem-ber universities. ØE aims to enhance the entrepreneurship education at the universities.

* 12 member universities during 2008


INTERREG IIIA projects 2008: Bookbridge and Strategies for Øresund/ East Asia. • The Bookbridge project has half of its funding from the EU and the rest from seven

member universities. Its main purpose is to improve the effectiveness of book loans between the members of Øresund University.

• The Strategies for Øresund/ East Asia project is co-funded by the EU and several member universities and regional actors. Its main purpose is to create better condi-tions for the region’s Asian initiatives and enhance the network between Øresund and East Asia. These two Interreg projects were finalized according to schedule in June 2008.

secretariatThe joint secretariat had this year, on average, approximately 35 people employed by Copenhagen University and Lund University. The Secretariat was organized as follows:

• Joint executive management• Secretariat for university collaboration• Secretariat for the ØSR platforms: (Øresund IT, Øresund Food Network, Øre-

sund Environment Academy and Øresund Logistics)

officesThe Danish offices were located to Ørestad and CBS in Copenhagen, the Swedish offices were located at Minc in Malmö and the Øresund House in Lund. During fall 2008, the secretariat on the Danish side moved to new offices in central Copenhagen.

inteRReg iv AAt the beginning of 2008 the Interreg IV A programme opened for applications for co-operation across Øresund. There was considerable commitment among the universities. Øresund University has therefore made a huge effort in providing support, advice and concrete assistance in developing the projects of the universities. During the year four projects run by the member universities were granted funds from Interreg. Together these projects are worth 10.6 million Euros, which represents 55% of the total funds granted.

Several project concepts are in the pipeline and most of Interreg has not yet been taken up. For this reason Øresund University will focus even more, in 2009, on actively assist-ing the member universities to participate in the programme. In 2009 a division will be set up in ØU, tasked with facilitating the creation of projects more actively, as well as assisting with reporting the projects.


u n i ve r s i t y o f co pe n h ag e n

Member universitiesLund University, University of Copenhagen, Malmö University, Copenhagen Business School, Roskilde University, Technical University of Denmark, Kristianstad University College, IT University of Copenhagen, The Royal School of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, The Royal School of Library and Information Science, The Danish School of Education


Text: Øresund University

layout: Kicki Persson, Cortez

Print: Punkt & Pixel

ØU AnnUAl Reviewwww.oResUnd.oRg

ØResUnd UniveRsiTY

DENMARK:Nørre Voldgade 161358 København KTel: + 45 33 34 34 40 SWEDEN:Box 117221 00 LundTel: + 46 46 222 09 69

2008

oresund university annual review 2008

Documents

copenhagen university

lund university

different university

major projects

usrs danish host university

large number of projects

small number of projects

central copenhagen