Prof. Ljunggren,
Prof. Wahlgren,
Prof. Forsberg,
Prof. Hansson,
Prof. Renné,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am very pleased to be able to talk to you here at the Karolinska Institute and, above all, to be able to obtain some background information here at one of Europes largest and most renowned medical universities and one of the worlds leading medical research facilities.
I have, of course, not come alone. I have brought along representatives of institutions with whom cooperation possibilities are to be discussed today. Please let me introduce them: Hamburgs Senator for Science and Deputy Mayor Dr. Dorothee Stapelfeldt; the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the UKE, Prof. Dr. Dr. Uwe Koch-Gromus; the Chairman of the DESY Board of Directors, Prof. Dr. Helmut Dosch; the Director of the Centre for Structural Systems Biology CSSB, Dr. Matthias Willmann; and Dr. Gruhl of the Hamburg Ministry of Health and Consumer Protection. We are very grateful to you for the chance to get to know your institute a little better.
Hamburg and Stockholm have much in common, not least their attractive location right on the waterfront. Both cities have always been hubs where enterprising people from many different countries and regions have met to trade with one another and to exchange ideas. This exchange still characterises the dynamics of Hamburg and Stockholm and links up our two cities, as we can see today.
We all know: If a city is to remain attractive and innovative, it must encourage and promote science and research. It must network not only across disciplines but also across regional and national borders.
In Hamburg, we have benefitted from this in many respects. In this context, I would like to mention our Life Science Nord cluster. We have created an internationally competitive cluster under this umbrella: with 13 innovation centres, nine universities, two university medical centres, twelve renowned research institutions, the Industrial Association of Hamburg and 500 medtech, biotech and pharmaceutical companies. A total of 8,000 people are employed in Life Science Nord.
The main objectives of the cluster are the development of active substances, molecular diagnostics and medical technology. The huge advantage is the international orientation and excellent networking especially, and I take great pleasure in saying this today, with the Scandinavian countries.
A more intensive cooperation will also open up new horizons in the area of medical research. Senator of Science and Research Dr. Stapelfeldt will go into more detail on the potential of a closer cooperation between Hamburgs University Hospital UKE, our newly established inter- and transdisciplinary Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB ) on our side and Karolinska Institütet on the Swedish side.
Next to clinical research, health services research is one of the focal points of both the UKE and the KI. It doesnt concentrate on specific diseases, but on the care providing systems as a whole. Their effectiveness and efficiency are of fundamental practical significance for our citizens.
Cooperation between UKE and the health authorities in Hamburg on the one hand, and the Karolinska Institütet and health administration in Stockholm on the other hand in this area is already established. This makes sense as the demographical developments in both cities raise similar questions. It will be instructive to compare the respective approaches to finding a solution for our health and care systems.
Cooperations of this kind do not only help to further strengthen Hamburg as a health capital and leading centre of excellence in health economics. They also result in valuable synergy effects which are vital for scientific breakthroughs. So we may continue to hope that one day they will say: The Nobel Prize goes to ... a Hamburg research scientist.
Following the example of the Karolínska Institütet which has already produced several!
Thank you.
Es gilt das gesprochene Wort.