The city, region, university and business community are now joining forces to create the environment for future innovations.
Helsingborg’s new innovation district stretches from Helsingborg C to Campus Helsingborg through the new Oceanhamnen neighbourhood and RecoLab. It is a central physical location and a collaboration platform where businesses, academia, and the public sector can meet and collaborate to find innovative solutions for sustainable growth and strengthen the development potential that exists here.
“We want to link the private, public and academic sectors and create a place where they can meet and collaborate. By continuously identifying, packaging and visualising different opportunities for collaboration, the actions and activities already taking place within the innovation district, we hope to be able to contribute to cross-sectoral collaborations. – At this physical location, there are currently more than 300 actors, over 5,500 employees and around 4,000 students linked to Campus Helsingborg. Today, the innovation district consists of five different hubs; Recolab, Hetch, Mindpark, Lund University (Campus Helsingborg) and Centre for Innovation (City of Helsingborg). Another part of the innovation district is our innovation ecosystem. We make a difference by connecting actors and enabling collaboration and new innovations,” says Zeynep Erdal, Head of Helsingborg Innovation District.
“It has been an exciting journey to create the innovation district and develop a structure for how we can work with these issues. We believe that it is good to be in an environment where things related to innovation are discussed and which is bubbling with that energy. There is a very wide range of activities in the area and here actors can meet, help and inspire each other,” continues Charlotta Johnsson, Head of Campus Helsingborg.
The City of Helsingborg, Region Skåne, Lund University and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Southern Sweden are behind the Helsingborg Innovation District in collaboration with the local business community. The success factor is based on a mutual interest in developing joint innovation and business acumen. This can be anything from supporting their skills supply and technology development to helping the industry become more circular. This strengthens the attractiveness of the region and its stakeholders and increases the chances that students who study here will stay and become employable in the regional economy. “We want to create a broad palette of different offers and put Helsingborg and the region on the innovation map nationally and globally,” says Zeynep Erdal. – “You could compare it to buying admission to an amusement park. You get value from being there, but there is no set path or predetermined route that you have to take. Innovation happens when people and companies come together and create things without boundaries and barriers. The main output of creating an innovation district is that companies will want to come here and establish themselves, develop and thrive,” says Charlotta Johnsson.
In February, Parken, Helsingborg’s Centre for Innovation, was opened, a place where the public sector, business and academia can meet to promote the city’s innovation and development, with the ambition of making Parken a leading arena for innovation collaboration where different industries and sectors meet. “Entrepreneurs, companies, city employees, and individual citizens can come to the district for help in moving their innovations and ideas forward. It certainly doesn’t have to be a new company, but you can also come here as an existing player who wants to develop a new product or service. I think it’s very important to inspire innovation and new thinking in business. It’s about preparing for the future and staying relevant,” concludes Charlotta Johnsson, Vice-Chancellor of Campus Helsingborg.
Written by: Thomas Rödin
