South-west Scandinavia striving to boost nanotechnology sector
The universities in South-west Scandinavia have joined forces in a new collaboration intended to promote the development of nanotechnology research, education and commercialisation. The network brings together Danish partners - the University of Copenhagen and the Technical University of Denmark - and Swedish partners - Lund University, Chalmers University of Technology and the Imgeo Institute in Gothenburg. The initiative will put the region among the five strongest nanotech clusters in the EU, the partners believe. 'To that must be added both high international standards and a considerable range of disciplines, which gives an even stronger international competitiveness,' they state. According to an EU-funded study carried out by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at the Dutch University of Leiden, there are currently 12 large nanoclusters in the EU. The ranking sees Paris as the most prolific regarding publications in the field, followed by London/Oxford/Cambridge, Berlin and the Stuttgart/Strasbourg region. There has been extensive collaboration between research groups at the universities in South West Scandinavia for a long time. In addition, the universities and stakeholders from the industry in the Øresund region established the nanotechnology association Nano Øresund, partly funded by the EU's Regional Development Fund. 'Using this solid base and the knowledge of Nano Øresund, the partners will develop an even stronger collaboration by focusing on strategic target areas. 'This new collaboration will strengthen our competitiveness and really bring us to the top of the world,' says Daniel Kronmann from Nano Øresund. 'Having these strong participants joining forces, we will be able to use the enormous potential of Scandinavia in terms of commercialising nanotechnology.' At 5.5 million inhabitants, South West Scandinavia is home to 38% of the total population of Sweden and Denmark. At the same time, 42% of Nordic nanoscientific activity is concentrated there.
Countries
Denmark, Sweden