A Day of Innovation and Celebration
A significant milestone for Helsingborg has been reached with the launch of Helsingborg Innovation District, welcoming a new era of innovation, cross-sectoral collaborations, and sustainable growth. The innovation district is set to be a global hub for impact innovation, bridging business, academia, and the public sector to drive forward-thinking solutions.
Opening Ceremony
The official opening ceremony, moderated by Alexandra Werder Hallonkvist, Head of Growth, City of Helsingborg, introduced the innovation district initiators Lund University, Region Skåne, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Southern Sweden and the City of Helsingborg, who all shared their enthusiasm of what Helsingborg Innovation District can provide and achieve as a vibrant hub of creativity and innovation.
Sven Kristensson, Vice Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Southern Sweden and President & CEO of Nederman Group, shared his thoughts on how the innovation district will bring people together for a better future,
– What is important here in this region, is we have to be competitive. We have a strong position of people and we need a platform for people to meet. We have much academia and we need to make this academic research into profitable business, entrepreneurship, because in the end, that is what it makes that this region thrive for the future. It is very important that we can start innovation, work with academia, with the city, to be attractive.
– Sven Kristensson, Vice Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Southern Sweden
Representatives from the innovation district hubs Hetch, RecoLab, Mindpark, Center for Innovation – Parken and Lund University – Campus Helsingborg also took to the stage to highlight their physical spaces in Oceanhamnen.
The continuous thoughts shared by all involved were the requirement for us to achieve greatness; we all must do this together.
We want to face the future, the challenges of society and we want to do it in a forward thinking and in a strong manner…We have to interact; we have to do it cross-border. We have to do it together.
– Christian Orsing, Chairman of the Executive Committee, City of Helsingborg
The need to push forward and address challenges through innovation is a topic that knows no bounds, even bringing political unity with the prospects of long-term possibilities and stability for collaboration.
Following a sparkling countdown...
…to the official opening of Helsingborg Innovation District, the audience were given the opportunity to gain expert knowledge and business insights through panel discussions by leaders in their respective fields, moderated by Zeynep Erdal, Head of Helsingborg Innovation District. Topics included capital injection for innovation and growth, defining the future of retail, pioneering smart logistics through AI, and the green industrial revolution. Rounding out a celebratory morning with more to come in the afternoon.
Afternoon Sessions
The afternoon was filled with activities and parallel sessions across the innovation district’s various hubs, each focusing on different aspects of innovation and sustainable development.
Hetch is a tech community for startups, scale-ups, and innovation tech teams, creating an inspiring environment for problem solvers. The theme at HETCH for the afternoon was technology and entrepreneurship, offering a diverse range of sessions. These included discussions on how tech transforms banking, strategies for entrepreneurial growth, and fostering creative entrepreneurship.
RecoLab offers a creative environment focusing on urban development around waste, energy, and recycling. The afternoon at RecoLab focused on circularity, offering sessions on investing in biochar for a sustainable future, Helsingborg’s mobilisation for water conservation, and breaking greenwashing through circular business models.
Mindpark, the creative innovation coworking community, and Lund University Campus Helsingborg, the academic institute, with a strong focus on cross-border education and research in close cooperation with companies and organisations, combined expertise to explore the intersections of culture, creativity and AI. Topics included the challenges of implementing AI, the future of logistics, creative hubs in the making, translating concert experiences and democratising culture through case studies.
The Center for Innovation—Parken is a meeting place for co-workers, business, and academia to work together to solve the challenges of the future and promote innovation and development. Their afternoon focused on smart city solutions, presented live demonstrations, and discussed how AI is being used to improve urban infrastructure. This included a live practical demonstration of a rubbish truck equipped with AI software to screen streets for potholes. The event concluded with a panel discussion on public-private sector collaboration for innovative urban solutions.
Finally, at the end of a sensational day, everyone joined together to network and discuss all the activities of the day and future prospects at Scandic Oceanhamnen.
This is Just the Beginning
By 2035, I would like Helsingborg Innovation District to become and be recognised as the global hub of excellence from which other innovation districts can be inspired. Because I believe that there is an enormous potential to build an innovation district that actually makes the difference that helps us with strategic shifts not only in Helsingborg and in this region but can actually impact the entire world.
– Zeynep Erdal, Head of Helsingborg Innovation District
