Four Innovation Districts in Panel Discussion
Innovation districts are emerging worldwide based on the idea of a unified force within a relatively small geographical area. The nature and solutions of innovation districts vary widely because they are based on local conditions for innovation, which can range from buildings and infrastructure and the presence of large and small companies to public ventures, opportunities for entrepreneurs and proximity to research and education. But despite their differences, there are also common opportunities and challenges for the districts. This was shown during the interesting event Italian research day in the world 2025 organized with Augusto Marcelli and Julieta Casanova as driving forces.
The start of the different districts looks different. Lund has a strong tradition of innovation, and a district actually existed even before anyone talked about it. Milan Innovation District MIND started as a result of the World Expo in Milan in 2015. After the exhibition, the question arose what would happen to the area used and the innovation district was created by developing a clear vision with a framework of rules. For Helsingborg, too, it was important to clarify the city's intentions.
- One of the challenges for Helsingborg was that it is a completely new area and new ideas and there has been a need for clarity on why an innovation district is important, says Zeynep Erdal, Director of Operations for Helsingborg Innovation District. We have developed a vision that builds bridges between different sectors but also wanted to show what the value is for the different sectors. For many, it is not clear how important it is to be able to cross-link sectors and competencies through access to other members and to the ecosystem.
Malmö Generate District in Malmö is under construction and will be rolled out in the autumn.
- We are building on strong industries, successful innovation hubs and Malmö University's areas of strength as we now take a bigger grip and establish the Malmö Generate District, says Kajsa Olsson Skärvad. We see it as our primary task to operate in the gaps — to create a mix of players to drive and generate more sustainable innovation power.
One question was how to have open dialogues with many actors and coordinate them towards a common goal.
- We need to understand the driving forces of the different actors, because property owners, large companies, entrepreneurs and talents all have their own logic, says Peter Kisch, Lund Innovation District. The Innovation District is supposed to offer opportunities, but there needs to be different opportunities for the different actors in order for them to take the opportunity to participate and do something different. For us in Lund, it's not so much about real estate, but we want to coordinate collaboration with parties locally but also internationally to create new content.
Innovation districts are not only local, but they also have a regional significance. How, then, can regions help innovation districts?
- The region works from a different perspective, from value chains, such as the semiconductor value chain. The players are all over Europe and we need to connect the points and cooperate between locations,” says Krisztina Anderberg Halasz, Region Skåne. Within the innovation districts, we are often involved in part-financing certain initiatives, usually through various projects raised by strong actors in the districts.
Integration and gender equality was one of the important issues.
- One of the first questions I investigated when I started developing Helsingborg Innovation District was how many startups are led by women, says Zeynep Erdal. It turned out to be half which underlines our strong positioning in the area. We have also investigated why male investors tend not to invest in women's companies and are working to create awareness about this. Other discussions that we are driving are how we can make STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) accessible to younger generations so that they can access and experiment with technological innovations from an early age. To demonstrate more career opportunities, one of our hubs, Lund University Campus Helsingborg, will open a Science Center for Children and Young People in the Innovation District next year.
- Networking is very good for integration, says Alberto Mina. In MIND we have many green parks and meeting in nature provides another context in which it is easier to make friends. Getting together is important because there is a great risk that otherwise it will not be equal when reshaping areas, because when creating a value in an area it is also about money and that can increase disparities.
What makes an innovation district successful?
“An important aspect that has emerged in previous research, based on the model of Italian districts and their capacity to innovate, is the importance of the coexistence of cooperation and collaboration within the ecosystem,” says Valentina Auricchio, Politecnico di Milano. It's important to create spaces for people to compete and collaborate at the same time. Another important component is cross-fertilization and interconnected innovation leaders. It is important to create spaces where experts in different fields meet to promote the meeting of different skills and knowledge. Specialization is very important, but we also need horizontal and vertical conversations.
Peter Kisch came to a similar conclusion.
- The visions with triple and quadruple helix are good but we do not have to go into details but can go different ways. It is important not to overdesign the district from above. You say that “systems make it possible but people make it happen” and that's important. We need to understand where people are going and that is what an innovation district should support.
Helsingborg Innovation District
Zeynep Erdal tells how Helsingborg has developed its work and processes related to innovation in recent years and built new collaborations with the private sector and academia. The city has a profile with a strength in trade and logistics, including based on the city's major port. Other key areas include Cleentech & Greentech, Tech and Public innovation.
- In Helsingborg there have been discussions about how we can strengthen these areas but also build new ones that further strengthen the city's identity, says Zeynep Erdal, operations manager for Helsingborg Innovation District. The first plan was to start a science park, but we chose to shift our focus to innovation districts as it is right on time and is more in line with our ambitions. We have gained attention as one of the most innovative cities in Europe.
Helsingborg is one of the cities participating in the EU's mission of 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030. Lund University also has a campus in Helsingborg and during the H22 City Expo a new bridge was built linking the city centre with Oceanhavn where the innovation district is located. The innovation district also houses incubators and Rekolab, a living lab for recycled water. In Helsingborg, proximity is seen as the key to an attractive innovation district, and other values are networks, the work with finance, physical assets but also the infrastructure with the advantage of being close to Copenhagen and Helsingør.
Malmö Generate District
The Malmö Generate District in Malmö is under construction and will be rolled out in the autumn. Here are Malmö University, the incubator Minc, large and small knowledge-intensive companies as well as established players such as Media Evolution — and everything that happens around the development environment in Varvsstaden.
“Malmö has enormous potential for an innovation district, and we have the opportunity to do it in a new and unique way,” says Kajsa Olsson Skärvad at Malmö Generate District.
Malmö Generate District builds its operations on three equally important layers:
The Human Layer: A strong innovation management and curation. There are already skills, tools and methods — but there is a lack of coordination and curation.
The physical layer: Identification of places and visibility of ongoing innovation.
The digital layer: A digital interface that enables collaboration and lowers the thresholds for the innovation economy.
Milan innovation district - MIND
In Milan, the innovation district is called MIND. The starting point was Expo Milano 2015 which was held on the outskirts of Milan, with an area of one million square meters to which there are good connections by train and air. After the exhibition, it was wanted to create a place for the development of the city. The vision for the future was an innovation district where the public sector, academia, industry and civil society can meet with the human at the heart. The area now houses, among other things, a research hospital, a hub for social innovation, the Human Technopole — a research institute for Life Science - and a campus of the University of Milan. In the area, the public and private interact and there is also Areexpo, which coordinates the area.
70,000 people come to the area every day, but MIND also wants to open up for contact with the outside.
- It is very important to have a dialogue with other parts of the world and build stable relationships, says Alberto Mina at Areexpo. We are developing a talent exchange programme but are also keen to engage with civil society.
Lund innovation district
Lund is a city where sustainability is high on the agenda, including through work on a climate-neutral city by 2030. It is also, both historically and in the present, a city where many innovations have been created.
- There is a vision that by being the small town where there is close between different activities, combined with having a top European university, we can help solve complex problems that are relevant to the world, says Peter Kisch, Future by Lund and coordinator of the Lund Innovation District.
Lund has a strong local ecosystem through Lund University, large anchor companies and an engaged municipality.
- We need to be good at deep specialization but also at overlapping cross-linked innovation. To do this effectively, we work with innovation portfolios based on what is created in Lund. We use a model to describe how actors can experiment together with challenges that no one can solve individually. What is needed are more places for this, places where actors can collaborate systemically through agile experimentation and design thinking.
Future by Lund has also carried out an underestimation of what people think about the opportunities in the Lund Innovation District but also works to connect the district with international networks.