Newsletter editorial, August 2020

It has been almost 600 days since I joined BioInnovation Institute.

The first task that met me in February 2019 was drafting a strategy plan to expand the BII team and further develop the BII programs to fit the life science ecosystems not only in the Nordics but eventually in the rest of the world.

Anyone who has worked in a young organization that is expanding rapidly at all levels knows that it is easy to be thrown off course and to be honest, I wasn’t always confident that we would reach our expectations and goals to attract the best scientific projects in Denmark and from abroad.

To succeed it was essential to give our first batch of portfolio projects and start-ups an efficient framework to bring their research closer to the market from the very beginning, while at the same time setting up internal operational procedures for BII that were scalable.

That quickly became my main priority alongside building a strong network in Denmark and around the world that has already proven to be key to BII’s success.

I am thankful that I have a strong team behind me in this and that I came with experience from running a research group of 50+ people, starting several companies and directing large research centers and departments.

In my time as CEO of BioInnovation Institute, I have drawn on all of it.

I no longer question if we can attract the best projects, because with each call round the bar is raised and in the most recent call, 36 percent of all applicants came from outside Denmark, primarily Sweden, Norway and Finland.

This gives me confidence, that we have laid good groundwork, that will help us fulfill our vision of bringing more great research to the market for the benefit of people and society. For me personally, it is a fantastic journey.

Best Regards
Jens Nielsen

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