•Products and services of the future – Developing the possibilities micro and nano-technology can offer
• Increased productivity and quality – A challenge from global
competition
• Digital interaction
– For mobility and efficiency
• New and efficient energy technologies
– The greatest global challenge
• Environment and health – Also important for competitiveness
• Distribution and logistics – Technology on the move Technology and Innovation.
Knowledge development amounts to 22% of the Institute’s turnover.
Several new innovation consortia In 2006 the Institute strengthened its position as regards research and development and is now respon-sible for a total of 14 innovation consortia, which are development projects each with a budget of 2.6-3.4 million euro. The projects are carried out as partnerships be-tween companies, research institutions and technological service institutions. The consortia have been granted funds by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.
In June the Institute received grants to fund two new consortia.
One is the BioEnCap consortium, which is involved with developing new methods of encapsulating and then releasing active ingredients in drugs and foods with the help of nano-technology. The other one is the consortium 3D Scaffolds (see page 9), which is developing new materials for bone and tissue re-placement. The Institute has also played a significant role in a third consortium, MoveBots, which is developing ‘intelligent’ grasping robots (see page 11), and which was also awarded a grant in June.
In December the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation committed funds to six consortia in all. The Institute is taking on the role of project leader for three of these and is addition-ally a central player in the fourth, in which new methods of micro and nano-welding are being developed.
The three consortia work with respectively bio-diesel (see page 8), the development of wireless sensors for the building industry and with the optimisation of the monitoring and checking of micro-biological growth in different envi-ronments using a combination of molecular micro-biology, nano-technology and advanced spectro-scopic techniques. The Ministry has provided funds totalling 8.0 million euro for the five new con-sortia which therefore have a com-bined budget of 21.1 million euro.
Two innovation consortia were completed at the end of the year, the ‘Centre for bio-film in technical systems’ and the ‘Centre for micro-systems for chemical and bio-che-mical analysis based on polymers’
respectively, both yielding very pro-mising results for the benefit of both process companies and the medical equipment industry.
The Institute’s investments in robotics
In 2006 the High Technology Fund provided financial support for two projects which follow on the Institute’s decision to concentrate more on robot technology, in the first instance by establishing the Centre for Robot Technology in Odense on 1 January 2007 as an extension of the existing partner-ship with the RoboCluster network and the University of Southern Denmark. One high-tech platform is the Handyman project which further develops advanced and flexible robots that are capable of
‘seeing’, grasping and sorting objects.
The second is the Unique concrete construction project in which robots help turn concrete into a
‘high-tech’ building material. (The project is described on page 16).
Result target agreement activities In 2006 work on the Institute’s result target agreement with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation was completed.
Here too, extremely promising
nano-technology project planning where various nano-technological
‘production environments’ have been built up within the framework of the result target agreement.
These environments can be used by companies to develop new pro-ducts or to extend their existing products with enhanced properties without having to make huge investments in equipment. And the work involved in systematically transferring advanced technology to SME’s, as described on page 22, also originates from the result tar-get agreement.
Knowledge utilisation The Institute makes new and existing knowledge available primarily in the form of commercial services related to inspection, certification and sampling, as well as laboratory services. Knowledge utilisation makes up 18% of the Institute’s total turnover.
In 2006 the Danish Technological Institute continued the massive investment in laboratory facilities which has put the Institute at the leading edge in a number of technological fields. The invest-ments ensure that the Institute will
for several years now the Institute has been building up world-class laboratories so that Danish compa-nies can profit from the latest technological breakthroughs in a global market which though highly lucrative, can also present signifi-cant entry barriers, especially for small and medium-sized enter-prises, in the form of the high investment levels required. These companies can therefore benefit from the Institute’s facilities when they need to develop new products or provide already well-known pro-ducts with ‘intelligent’ properties.
The latest addition to the Institute’s formidable laboratory facilities is a
‘nano-coater’ – a tiny factory where a molecular-thin layer can be applied to very small items. The layers could for example make micro-components for the medical equipment industry dirt or water-resistant.
2006 was also the year we opened a completely new micro-biological laboratory based at the Technology Gateway in Århus. The new lab contains state-of-the-art equipment for both traditional micro-biology and for handling genetically-modi-fied and disease-inducing
micro-The lab houses among other things a robot which produces forms for concrete elements. In the future, the laboratory will also include a new concrete mixing plant. This will be a professional production plant which will be used for ‘reali-stic’ sampling and testing.
Finally the Institute has equipped a new laboratory for the development and testing of cutting-edge environ-mental tree protection techniques, so that customers in this field can also benefit from developing and testing new methods and materials, thus increasing their competitive-ness.
Knowledge transfer
60% of the Institute’s total turnover is generated by knowledge transfer, which is where knowledge gained at the Institute is transferred to companies. After the transfer, the companies themselves are often in a position to further develop on the new technologies. This category also includes business consultancy services for private and public customers, training and operational projects.
Consultancy
Consultancy services for private and public customers accounts for 31% of the Institute’s total turnover.
Consultancy is carried out based on the knowledge which is deve-loped from R & D activities and through long-term partnerships with a large number of companies.
Consultancy thus covers all the Institute’s technical areas of exper-tise and reflects the breadth and variety of the Institute’s work.
Training and education
The Institute’s turnover from trai-ning and education has been rising steadily over the past few years, to the extent that it now accounts for 25% of total turnover. The increase is primarily attributable to growth in
the Institute’s conference activities, but also to the fact that the combined number of courses now offered by the Institute is considerably greater than previously. Altogether 36,700 participants have attended courses, seminars and conferences arranged by the Institute. In 2006 the Institute was once again nomi-nated as Denmark’s number one course provider – the 14th time the Institute for Business Cycle Analysis, which carries out an annual survey of 600 companies, has placed us in the top position.
Operational projects
The Institute currently has a number of operational projects, mainly for public sector customers. On 1 January 2006 the Institute started
the FEM secretariat, together with the Danish Building Information Centre. The FEM secretariat is a secretariat for the energy labelling of buildings, inspection schemes for housing, boilers and heating systems, and ventilation systems, and a secretariat for state-owned property. These functional areas are very much in keeping with many of the Institute’s technical competences and can thereby pro-vide synergies with the rest of the Institute. Over the course of 2006, the FEM secretariat has become fully operational and at the end of the year had a staff of 19. It is run on behalf of the National Agency for Enterprise and Construction and the Danish Energy Authority respectively.
Training and education 32% (33%) Other services 4% (2%)
2006 also saw the Institute appoin-ted project secretariat for the 15 new regional competence centres, which are to strengthen co-opera-tion between local training institu-tions and companies in providing adult and vocational training for low qualified employees in the small and medium-sized enterprises. The project is being carried out for the Danish Ministry of Education, and Education Minister Bertel Haarder kicked off the project at an opening conference in June.
For many years the Institute has run the ‘Public Service Scheme for Inventors’ for the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. In 2006 we provided individual advisory services for 4,724 people, representing a rise of 16% mainly due to the scheme receiving an injection of 0.2 million euro in the last quarter of the year.
For four years the Institute has been responsible for the
EuroCentre, which advises compa-nies, research institutions and re-searchers about the EU. At the end of 2006, however, the EuroCentre’s activities moved to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.
The Business Service Centre for Copenhagen County has for the last three years been housed at the Institute, and in 2006 we offered guidance and advice to 481 entre-preneurs and 519 companies.
There were 437 participants at the centre’s information arrangements aimed at entrepreneurs, 302 parti-cipants at entrepreneur workshops and 641 participants at the theme meetings. Finally, 350 entrepre-neurs and companies visited the centre’s open house event in October, arranged in collaboration with the Business Service Centre for Northern Zealand.
In 2006 the centre developed and carried out a pilot project focusing on growth entrepreneurs. Twelve companies received competence development in strategy, marketing, sales, organisational development and capital combined with specia-list advice and coaching. The 12 companies have all gone on to create value and have additionally been able to draw up their own detailed growth plans.
As a result of the local government structural reform, the operation of the Business Service Centre is to cease at the end of April 2007, when responsibility for the centre
will be taken over by the new municipalities.
New regional technological centres In 2006 six new regional techno-logical centres were set up, in parallel with the original seven re-gional growth environments. The Institute is to play a role in most of the new centres, and is project leader for one: ‘Danvifo – the Danish Knowledge Centre for Event Management’, which is based on the island of Bornholm. Among the newly established centres the Institute is also taking part in the
‘Innovation Centre for Bio-Energy and Environmental Technology’, the ’North Jutland Innovations and Competence Centre for Renewable Energy’, the ’Regional Techno-logical Centre for Robotics, Sensors and Intelligent Systems’, and the
’Regional Technological Centre for Wireless Communication’. The Institute is already leader of the growth environment ’Steel Centre RTC’ in Kolding and partner in the
’Danish Centre for Product Development and Design’, the
’Development Centre for Furniture and Wood’ and the ’Centre for Food Development and Innovation’.
led and highly-qualified employees.
That is why we are very happy that the results from the employee satisfaction survey carried out at the end of 2006 were better across the board compared to the survey from 2004. At the same time how-ever, the new survey also shows that there is still room for improve-ment in some areas. Manageimprove-ment development is to be enhanced through interdisciplinary co-operati-on, which is in line with the Institute’s overall strategy. The employee satisfaction survey shows
situation on the job market at the moment. 2006 was a year in which tough competition on the job mar-ket really kicked in. The Institute took on 166 employees over the course of the year, which is more than ever before. The fact that the employees at the Institute are highly sought-after is reflected in the number of staff who have left during the year to take new jobs.
At the end of the year the Institute had 851 employees, of whom 695 are academically qualified staff.
In order to ensure that the Danish
have decided that the employee development programme carried out in 2006 should continue in 2007. The development pro-gramme is aimed at significantly raising a number of employees’
competence levels through an ambitious course using both Danish and foreign instructors.
The course combines both teaching and project work, and 30 key members of staff will take part in the programme over the coming year.
Doctors 1.0% (1.0%) Ph.D.’s 7.6% (6.3%) Graduate Engineers 33.1% (37.7%) Other academic staff 25.8% (22.2%) Other technical staff 32.5% (32.8%) 100% = 695 academically qualified members of staff (680)