New minister takes everyone by surprise

When the Danish Prime Minister reshuffled his government this Monday many were caught by surprise. Especially the new Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation is a newcomer to the political hallways.

Charlotte Sahl-Madsen is the name of the new minister who is going to point Denmark in the right direction on matters such as technological development, scientific research and innovation. She is taking over the office from previous minister Helge Sander who had the pleasure of the duty for more than 3,000 days, which is a remarkable length of time. Helge Sander is by experience a senior within Danish politics and the new minister's distinction from this is exactly what is going to pinpoint the change.

The educational background narrates of an unfinished law degree and supplementary executive courses, but Charlotte Sahl-Madsen's core skills should be found in her vast experience from the corporate sector.

"I have been working with the way scientists transmit their knowledge. I have a large network within the scientific community and naturally I have thoughts on how to work with science in new ways" Charlotte Sahl-Madsen says to jv.dk

In line with her ideas, the new minister originally established her name as Chief of Development at the international Danish toy company LEGO. From this position she moved on to new challenges within the LEGO group and was announced CEO of LEGO VisionLAB with a specific learning and development focus. From 2004 she would dedicate the next five years to develop and build the bridge between science and learning, as CEO of Danfoss Universe, a high-tech experience and learning park in the Southern Jutland. The objectives of this science and experience park are actually quite parallel to the expectations of the new minister: an instant link between the academic world, the corporate sector and the people.

Great expectations

"I was pretty surprised, because I do not know her at all. But I think she sounds as an exiting choice. Even though she has a scientific background in Danfoss I hope that she will prioritize the IT and telecommunications industries somewhat more than her predecessor" says IT Political Spokesman of the Social Democrates, Yildiz Akdogan.

This statement is one amongst many, and specifically the appeal to the ICT interest of the new minister is a message that keeps repeating.

"From my point of view she is without any experience in the IT area. Therefore I am very excited to see how she will prioritize the IT area since it has been severely underprioritized so far" says Hanne Agersnap, IT Political Spokesman of the party SF.

The relatively young ministry has a broad focus, and whilst Charlotte Sahl-Madsen is catching up on her homework on both universities, technological development, science and more, there is no doubt that interest and expectations from a great number of stakeholders will increase.

As an ICT organization within the Øresund Science Region we at Øresund IT are as exited as anyone to see if the new minister will be able to enhance the joint effort between the academia and the corporate world and ensure further ICT development in Denmark and the Øresund Region.

Sources: Computerworld, Version2, TV2, Videnskab.dk and vtu.dk