Each city struggles to position itself in the global village and forge its own identity. Some are committed to becoming a financial capital, others the nerve center of culture, some cities choose to be a benchmark for fashion or design. For years Oslo has chosen innovation and knowledge. At the last Barcelona React 2023 economic reactivation conference that took place this week, Christine Wergeland, CEO of Oslo Science City, came to explain this model, which is not a mere urban development, but an economic strategy.
The idea is to concentrate institutions, scientists and companies in the same space. And may this sum be a magnet to attract talent and investment. The initiative started decades ago but thanks to public and private funding it is taking off. There are up to 16 entities, between administration and companies, that promote this ambitious project. They have the University of Oslo, the largest hospital in the country or the BI business school.
The Norwegian Government has decided to invest 1,000 million euros to start up the Life Science Center. Another 4,000 million will go over the next decade to the hospital of the University of Oslo, which will be built right next door to boost synergies.
More initiatives consist of expanding the Cancer Cluster Innovation Park (for cancer cures) and setting up a sustainability hub where students from local schools can use the laboratories and come into contact with the world of work. “Innovation takes place when people meet and work together, stimulating new ideas. With individuals from different cultures and backgrounds who combine their experiences. From monofunctional buildings, we have gone on to an interdisciplinary use”, explains Wergeland. This epicenter of knowledge aims to host some 7,500 researchers, 30,000 students and some 300 startups. It will have the so-called four gravitational centers of excellence: the science of life and health; climate and environment; digitization and computer science and social inclusion.
The results are already starting to show: two-thirds of Norway's medical research takes place in the Oslo Science City. Some unicorns like Nykode, Algeta or reMarkable have been developed here. The urban profile of this area, which stretches between the city and the surrounding forest, is going to change completely in the coming years, thanks to a study by Danish star architect Bjarke Ingels.
Norway (which has a population of five million in an area that is ten times that of Catalonia) has a long tradition of growing industries in places that are close to resources. When the country had to be electrified, they built hydroelectric power stations near the waterfalls. When it was necessary to bet on oil, they set up platforms in the North Sea.
But today the greatest resource is knowledge, hence the idea that science is the one that inspires urban development and job creation. “In case you hadn't noticed, the world is changing. We are transforming into a zero emission society, with a green and digital economy”, says Wergeland.
Norway can count on something that a society as polarized as Spain cannot currently offer: great political stability. In 2019, the Oslo City Council unanimously voted to develop the city as a knowledge society. Likewise, periodic consultations are carried out with the residents of this district so that they also feel involved with this initiative.
Obviously, there are still things to do. For example, the atmosphere after work hours is somewhat soulless. “Barcelona is a huge source of inspiration for us, since you were pioneers in developing technological neighborhoods twenty years ago”, acknowledges Wergeland, citing 22@. And while Barcelona's spring sun peeks over the rooftops, this Norwegian remembers that in Oslo the temperature must be below zero.
