30.03.2021
Positive developments in science in the Fehmarn Belt region

Lübeck, 30 March 2021

The scientific collaboration in the Fehmarn Belt region is becoming increasingly close. The number of publications by researchers collaborating between the Hamburg metropolitan region and the Øresund region has risen again in recent years. Evidence of this can be seen in the Fehmarn Belt Index (FBx) prepared for the Fehmarnbelt Business Council (FBBC) by Stralsund University of Applied Sciences, which recently presented its sub-index for science. ‘Innovative and creative minds from Germany and Scandinavia are already working together closely between Hamburg and Copenhagen/Malmö. The region’s development into a science hotspot will promote growth and prosperity, and help boost the location’s international profile further,’ says Dr Arno Probst, FBBC chairman, expressing a firm conviction. He finds this to be a good message, coming about eight years before the planned completion of the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link. The region is experiencing an upswing from the Federal Administrative Court’s decision in November 2020 in favour of building the tunnel, and Probst believes that it could accelerate further as a result.

In 2017 the FBBC decided to measure the effects seen so far in the consolidated growth along the Fehmarn Belt axis. In doing this, it seeks to examine how strong the market cooperation and integration is in the Fehmarn Belt region. Probst says, ‘Even the initial results in 2019 showed us how important cross-border cooperation is in science, technology and innovation. By updating the index, we are continuing our previous work of continuously measuring specific sectors’ integration on both sides of the Fehmarn Belt, before and after the fixed link is completed.’

The ‘science, technology and innovation’ index almost doubled between the 2008 basis year and 2017. Academic publications in particular more than tripled during the period reviewed. The joint publication activity in the Fehmarn Belt region is vibrant and developing positively. Collaborative work in EU-funded research and development projects is also developing steadily. Geographically, the focus on the German side is on the historical port city of Hamburg, while on the Danish side it is on the Copenhagen metropolitan area. ‘However, patent numbers in the region remain modest and the index for them has not changed compared to the 2008 basis year,’ says Professor Björn P. Jacobsen from the faculty of business at Stralsund University of Applied Sciences.

‘There is still room for improvement in this respect,’ Probst emphasises. To unlock this potential, evaluate the results so far and ascertain the mood of companies and organisations in the region, the FBBC wishes to survey German and Danish companies and organisations about the index during the first half of 2021. With the joint development of the index and survey, the FBBC is relying on facts and results in order to gain a comprehensive picture of how the Fehmarn Belt is coalescing.

A detailed explanation of the methodology and analysis of the results can be found via this link: https://fbbc.eu/en/fehmarnbelt-index-en/

Press contact Fehmarnbelt Business Council:

Dr. Can Özren
Press officer IHK zu Lübeck
E-Mail: oezren@ihk-luebeck.de
Phone: +49 451 6006-160
Mobile: +49 175 4394722

About the Fehmarnbelt Business Council:

The Fehmarnbelt Business Council (FBBC) was established in 2007 as an international business union of Hamburg Hamburg of Commerce, Dansk Industri, Chambers of Commerce and Industry Schleswig-Holstein, Dansk Erhverv, German-Danish Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Southern Sweden, Lübeck Chamber of Skilled Crafts, Chamber of Industry and Commerce Schwerin, Lübeck Merchants‘ Association, UV Nord – confederation of employers‘ associations in northern Germany and HanseBelt e.V.. Through its 11 members, the FBBC represents more than 400,000 businesses in Germany, Denmark und Sweden.