Medicon Village at TechBBQ – strengthening innovation across borders

Medicon Village was well represented at TechBBQ in Copenhagen on 27–28 August, joining one of the Nordic region’s leading meeting places for start-ups, investors, innovators and industry. During the two-day event, representatives from Medicon Village participated in several panel discussions focusing on innovation, collaboration and the opportunities created by connecting strong ecosystems across sectors and national borders.

TechBBQ brought together entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, companies and innovation environments from across the Nordics and beyond. For Medicon Village, the event provided an opportunity to highlight the strength of the life sciences ecosystem in Lund and Skåne, while building new relationships and strengthening existing connections within the wider Nordic innovation ecosystem.

With Copenhagen and Skåne forming one of Northern Europe’s most knowledge-intensive regions, collaboration and innovation were recurring themes throughout the event. Medicon Village contributed to several discussions, sharing experiences of building collaborative environments where academia, healthcare, industry and entrepreneurs can meet and turn knowledge into innovation.

Three discussions with Medicon Village at TechBBQ

• The Øresund region as a hotspot for Danish-Swedish innovation and research: Petter Hartman, CEO of Medicon Village Innovation, joined representatives from Medicon Valley Alliance, BioInnovation Institute, Ideon Science Park and Medeon Science Park to discuss the strengths and untapped potential of the Greater Copenhagen innovation ecosystem. A key message was the need to better connect the region’s strong assets across sectors and national borders.
• Behind Every Founder: The Communities Powering Life Science: Francesco Bez, Innovation Manager at Medicon Village Innovation, joined the panel discussion “Behind Every Founder: The Communities Powering Life Science”, exploring how strong ecosystems can help founders access the expertise, connections, infrastructure and capital they need to grow. The discussion highlighted the importance of bringing together founders, investors, academia, industry and support organisations, as well as strengthening collaboration across the life sciences and tech ecosystems in Denmark and Southern Sweden.
• Turning regional life science strength into global impact: Lottie Norrsén, Event & Project Manager at Medicon Village Innovation, participated in a panel discussion on how the Nordic life sciences sector can turn its regional strengths into greater global impact. Lottie Norrsén stressed the importance of each Nordic country continuing to make progress on its own terms, while at the same time fostering cross-border synergies, as start-up communities need to maintain an international outlook due to the relatively small size of their home markets.

A platform for innovation and collaboration

TechBBQ provided an excellent platform to showcase both the strengths of the region as a whole and the growing innovation community at Medicon Village. By bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs, companies and investors, Medicon Village offers an environment where new connections can be made, ideas developed and innovation accelerated. Participation at TechBBQ was also an opportunity to strengthen Medicon Village’s visibility and build new relationships within the wider Nordic innovation ecosystem.