INNOVATION DISTRICT COPENHAGEN is the name of a new Danish powerhouse for inventing and developing solutions to important societal challenges. The new innovation district will be developed by the Danish government, the City of Copenhagen, the University of Copenhagen and other local partners building on the geography and content of Copenhagen Science City.

International epicentre

Denmark needs to be at the vanguard of converting good ideas from research into growth, companies and new solutions to national and global challenges. Maintaining and improving Denmark’s ability to commercialise innovative ideas is the goal behind Innovation District Copenhagen, a new initiative, where the Danish government, the City of Copenhagen and the University of Copenhagen will build an international epicentre for life sciences and quantum technology – a district where thousands of students, researchers, entrepreneurs, accelerators and investors will be able to meet every day and work together to develop tomorrow’s solutions for a better world:

It is a central ambition for the University of Copenhagen to contribute to innovation, collaboration with industry and impact in society. We look forward to developing Innovation District Copenhagen into an internationally leading innovation ecosystem together with the Danish government, City of Copenhagen and our local and national partners. We see a large potential to become the leading location in Europe for collaboration in research, development and innovation. Especially within life science and quantum technology”: Henrik C. Wegener, Rector, University of Copenhagen.

All key elements in place

The district will be located in the area around the University of Copenhagen’s Northern Campus, Rigshospitalet, University College Copenhagen’s Campus Nørrebro, “De Gamles By” and the Haraldsgade neighbourhood. This area, which has until now been known as Copenhagen Science City, already contains a number of key components that can be built on to create an internationally leading innovation environment.

A history of attracting innovation ecosystem actors

In addition, the district has a history of attracting investments in technology development and commercialization with the establishment of the BioInnovation Institute, a number of new translational research centers and a pioneer center for artificial intelligence at the University of Copenhagen. The establishment of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Quantum Computing Programme, the Nato Center for Quantum Technology and the Technical University Hospital of Greater Copenhagen are other examples of significant initiatives in the area.

Master plan to build on strong collaboration

All of these conditions, including an already well established and strong collaboration between the above mentioned organisations, create a unique opportunity for Denmark to become an international center for innovation within life science and quantum technology. As a next step, the partners will now develop a masterplan for the further development of the district.

Press release

Read the joint press release (In Danish) here::