FIV, Alm.del - 2011-12 - Bilag 233: Kopi af Morten Østergaards tale ved ATV’s 75 års jubilæum

Flere heste end traktorerUddannelsesminister Morten Østergaards tale ved Akademiet for de Tekniske Videnskabers (ATV)75 års jubilæum 1. juni 2012. Talen er på engelsk.Det talte ord gælder.I would like to wish the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences congratulations on its 75thanniversary. It's a significant anniversary that we're celebrating.75 years ago, the world looked a lot different than today. Denmark was embracing industrialisation.The infrastructure was being developed and the Little Belt Bridge was inaugurated just two yearsearlier – creating the first connection between Jutland and Funen.The telephone had been widespread throughout the country, though still reserved for the few.Individual forms of production were gradually replaced by large scale mass production and theincreased use of machinery.There were still more horses than tractors used in agriculture. But there were a lot of horsepowerbehind an ever-accelerating industrialisation in Denmark. Industrialisation required new education,especially within technical fields. And national school reforms made it easier for the growingmiddle-class to attend higher education.I believe that we today face another change: a transformation on par with industrialisation.We are leaving behind the logic and mentality of the industrial age to transform ourselves into –what for the lack of a better term – could be called an innovation society. Where natural resourceswere crucial to the industrial age – creativity and knowledge are key contributing factors in theinnovation society. And just as it was in the past, a boost in education is crucial to thetransformation.We must prepare ourselves as individuals in a constantly changing society. A changing society;where our most important resource is brain power. And thereby a society where we can never be tooeducated.

Europe and Denmark's challengesToday you cannot open a paper or watch the news without being reminded again and again thatEurope is in a crisis. Productivity is dropping. Growth is low. Our population is ageing. And weface global competition from countries that have lower production costs and higher growth.But great challenges also offer great opportunities. Because it is future challenges that will drivefuture innovation. And that is where we can find growth. Challenges therefore also provide part ofthe solution.

But solutions to these challenges cannot just be handed over by politicians and government. Thesesolutions must be created. Created on a foundation of high quality education, excellent research andstrong innovation.We cannot and will not compete against low salaries and bad working conditions. If we are toprovide for Denmark's future, we need to transform our society on a fundamental level.

Boosting educationTo successfully transform from an industrial society to an innovation society, we face three must-win battles:Firstly, we need a historic boost in education and qualifications. The Government's 2020 plan hasshown how we can fund this. In 2020, we will ensure that 60 per cent of all young people will get ahigher education. And 25 per cent will obtain a university degree.The jobs lost during the crisis were primarily unskilled. The jobs we create in the future will requirequalifications.This reminds me of one of my favourite stories; Not long ago I visited a leading Danish medicaltechnical firm, which has a fully automated production operated by two employees in the factory.One of the workers remembered the mantra from her childhood:"Pay attention in school, or you’llend up in the factory".She now tells her own children:"Pay attention in school – or you won't beable to get work in the factory".Some fear that we are over-educating people – let me say this:We can never be too educated.We need to educate even more.We need more talent and creativity.That is the first must-win battle.

Excellent researchThe second must-win battle concerns research.From day 1, the Government has maintained that the target of spending 1 per cent of GDP onresearch, should not be a boundary but a baseline. We must create even stronger researchenvironments, where excellent research can benefit us all and create the foundation for newinnovation.The Government will also prioritise university basic research funding. We must ignore the myththat basic research does not lead to innovation. 16 per cent of patents that resulted from publicly-

financed research were obtained by our basic research centres – which had only received 2 per centof the funding.It is essential to ensure that knowledge is recognised and utilised to create new solutions and addedvalue. I know that ATV is also very concerned about this.We need to be better at helping knowledge from our universities and research institutions passthrough the so-called Valley of Death. The Valley of Death is the chasm between our ability tocreate new knowledge and our ability to translate that knowledge to products, services and growth.There must be a shorter path between public investments in research and education, to growth andjob creation. Universities need to enter strategic alliances with businesses, with excellent researchas a starting point. We need to build a bridge over the Valley of Death.It is the second must-win battle to forge these connections.

Innovation and ingenuityThe third must-win battle on the path to an innovation society, concerns our innovation capacity.Three months ago, I launched an intensive process that will lead to Denmark's first, collective andambitious innovation strategy later this year. The basis for the strategy includes the grand societalchallenges we face within health, climate and energy.The innovation strategy will utilise Denmark's tradition of interdisciplinary thinking. It will improveour ability to find solutions to societal challenges and create globally-competitive jobs andcompanies.Denmark must be a nation of solutions. And the innovation strategy will be an expression ofliberation from existing barriers and conventional thinking.We need to create a new culture of cooperation between the public and private sectors. TheGovernment will bring the public sector into play to accelerate the development of new solutionsand jobs. This will be through a new model for cross-disciplinary partnerships, which are targeted atspecific challenges.An innovation society needs large-scale innovation. And it requires that we set ambitious targets forthe transformation that our efforts will lead to.We need new solutions that reflect reality. We can develop our drive and use the fact that we are awell-organised society that should be able to commit to being an innovation society – as oursituation demands.Research is an important element in the innovation strategy. As is education.It is my ambition to improve the education system to meet future challenges. It requires innovativeeducation programmes, a focus on career guidance and a change of mindset among students and

educators. Students shouldn't just be listening to lectures and sub-mitting exam papers. Thoughtsand ideas must be transformed to new products, processes and companies. Students must createchange, be enterprising, and be able to see through an idea to its development.Creativity and ingenuity are vital if Denmark is to be a leading innovation society.Take LEGO for example. There is an average of 75 LEGO bricks per person on this planet – and it'snot because they were produced in Billund. But because the company consistently works creativelyto innovate its products. There are lots of other plastic building bricks available worldwide, oftencheaper than LEGO, but kids want LEGO because they want to be part of the LEGO creativeuniverse. No creativity – no LEGO.Our third must-win battle is to increase our innovation capacity and motivate more young people tobe creative, enterprising and daring.

Research, education and innovationI would like to conclude by thanking the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences for your persistentand qualified contribution to the development of Denmark.You have been with us from the time when telephones were a rarity, since we only had one bridgeover the Little Belt and since there were more horses than tractors in Danish agriculture. You havebeen with us since industrialisation changed Danish society. And you are still here.ATV is no less important nowadays when we face yet another transformation on par withindustrialisation.One of the founders of the Academy, Professor P.O. Pedersen, was very explicit when he had toexplain the reason for the establishment of the Academy – and I quote:Denmark has only onefactor that we have the opportunity to improve: our skills.This argument is still relevant to day.Denmark's drive is a dynamic approach to education, research and innovation.These are our three must-win battles: