Lars Goldschmidt, Deputy Director General of DI, and Helge Sander, Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation
'The universities should deliver candidates who research in areas that are important to uphold the Danish cultural welfare society. So the universities must deliver candidates who kick ass,' Lars Goldschmidt from The Confederation of Danish Industry/DI boldly opened the debate on Danish academic research yesterday, hosted by political editor Peter Mogensen, and arranged by the Danish newspaper of Politiken.Both he and Helge Sander, the Danish Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, The Liberals (V), agreed that there where abundant means for Danish research institutions. And acted on advice from the Danish Globalisation Council's report from 2006. Helge Sander particularly stressed the importance of research in areas like energy, public health, and the environment.
They where opposed by Marianne Jelved, The Danish Social Liberal Party's (R) spokes person on research. And by Ralf Hemmingsen, headmaster of The University of Copenhagen. They both criticised the government for meddling with the concept of free research, and for diminishing the public funding of basic means for this free research. The debate is old, but was reinforced because of this years budget negociations for 2009, where means for strategic research once again were in focus - at the cost of for instance unbound Ph.D. researchers. Ralf Hemmingsen called for both wide and narrow elite research.
A graphic display showed that the share of the basic means compared to total means in the public Globalisation Fund had diminished by approximately five percent over the past five years - in the current government period of The Liberals and The Conservatives. With a projection of a rise from 2009 onwards to 2012. Faced with this Helge Sander (V) referred to a general rise in the means from 2006 to 2009. Paradoxically, it seems that ministers will rather sell what's in prospect than what is currently on the shelves. So we will probably have to look in the crystal ball for more 'kick ass' researchers and candidates.