BackFrom measuring tape to meaning: cooperation across the Fehmarn Belt is not just about infrastructure
They have arrived with measuring tapes and sketchbooks. German students of Architecture move through the Market Hall in Nykøbing Falster (Denmark), measuring damp levels on walls, analysing windows, pillars and the historical details of the facade. In cooperation with Danish consultants and municipal planners, these young people are developing ideas to give the old port building new life.
The Market Hall is just one of several case studies covered by the EU-funded Fehmarn Belt Innovation (FBI) project which creates a framework for students, businesses, municipalities and other stakeholders in which they can work together on real-life scenarios and products – such as the conversion of a port building, the development of sustainable solutions and the testing of new business ideas. The aim is to share knowledge across the border, strengthen relationships and be ready to take advantage of the fixed link across the Fehmarn Belt as soon as it is complete.
Why the Fehmarn Belt Innovation cooperation is important
The new link will bring Denmark and Germany even closer together physically. But a tunnel does not in itself establish relationships, understanding or cooperation. This is why the FBI project has hosted activities to consolidate human and technical interactions across the border since 2023.
“It’s important that we prepare to use the link for more than just transport,” says Morten Pristed, FBI project manager at Erhvervshus Sjælland. “We need to enhance relationships and get to know each other better so that our region becomes more cohesive in terms of employment, the economy, culture and environment.”
FBI is a networking and innovation project that creates a space for Danish and German operators to work together in three sectors: construction, maritime initiatives and biotechnology where test cases, innovative ideas and networks can be developed.
One example among many: the Danish Market Hall as a shared test case
A good example is the Market Hall in Nykøbing. Here, the FBI project has put about 100 German Architecture students from Technische Hochschule in Lübeck in contact with Danish consultants and municipal planners. Through interdisciplinary workshops and building studies, ideas have emerged for how to reinvigorate this historical building – while respecting its architectural heritage and local significance.
For the students, this means hands-on experience in a Danish environment. They have been given the chance to test their knowledge in practice and expand their horizons: how do you solve problems in another country? What methods and priorities characterise Danish construction culture? Conversely, the Danish participants gain new insight and input from the architects of the future.
“If anyone is sitting there thinking: couldn’t the project just be done by sending a few PowerPoints back and forth? The answer is no. The technical benefits are important, but people coming together is what creates lasting learning,” says Anton Brodmann from Technische Hochschule Lübeck.
“Our students gain insight into a Danish context and Danish construction, but they also learn how to work in an international and interdisciplinary space.”
This provides mutual learning and, in the final instance, mutual development. And that is precisely the way in which the FBI project is building bridges between people, areas of expertise and opportunities. Before the link opens.
The Belt connection – potential, competition and perspective
The coming tunnel under the Fehmarn Belt will not only be connecting land masses – it will be connecting markets. Nonetheless, businesses on the island of Zealand trade significantly less with Germany than their colleagues in North Jutland do. This is a shame, believes FBI, because the opportunities are there and they are significant.
“Germany is a complex market, and it requires preparation. If you don’t invest time in understanding that, you’ll probably never be ready,” emphasises Morten Pristed.
Many businesses on Zealand say that they have no plans to export to or establish themselves in Germany. The FBI project is challenging this line of thinking. Because the tunnel is not one way: it is not only Danish exports that will become easier. The Germans, who are world export champions, will also gain easier access to Denmark – in terms of products, labour and competition.
The project manager continues:
“Maybe you think that your product is the smartest in the world. And it may very well be. But what do others think?”
That is why being aware of both your competitors and your opportunities is essential. The FBI project helps businesses to prepare, for example by involving German students in the assessment of Danish products. This takes some time, but it provides valuable feedback and holds up an honest mirror. How are ideas and solutions perceived in a different culture? How is work done in Germany and what do the Germans think about sustainability, function and price? And vice versa, of course. German businesses can learn a great deal about how Danish operators develop, market and think about innovation.
Matchmaking as a method for collaboration
According to Christiane Paaske-Sørensen, innovation employee at Business Lolland-Falster, a partner on the FBI project, the value of the project is also found in making the first step possible.
“Many businesses have an idea about what the Germans are like and that prevents them from making contact,” she says. “We make things tangible and present. Sometimes it’s just about being there while a dialogue gets started.”
The FBI project works to match up businesses and students where relationships are shaped around needs and ideas. It is about creating fertile ground for solutions and innovation processes that both parties can see themselves in. At the beginning of the project, clusters and networks were established in both countries to enable relevant stakeholders to connect and develop together more easily.
EU support makes ideas possible
Fehmarn Belt Innovation builds on meetings, shared learning and development across the border. But without EU support, the project would never have made it from idea to reality.
“It’s not about reinventing the wheel, but someone just has to take the initiative and set up a framework. And we couldn’t have done that without Interreg,” says Morten Pristed. “Because moving students and teachers across the border costs quite a bit of money. Going on a trip like this doesn’t cost the students anything and it’s a huge experience for them.”
The project receives approx. EUR 1.4 million from Interreg Deutschland-Danmark and the European Union. On the Danish side, FBI project partners include Erhvervshus Sjælland, Roskilde University, Knowledge Hub Zealand, Business Lolland-Falster and Zealand Sjællands Erhvervsakademi and from Germany Technikzentrum Lübeck, Kieler Wirtschaftsförderungs- und Strukturentwicklungsgesellschaft, Wirtschaftsförderung Lübeck und Technische Hochschule Lübeck. It is a win-win-situation that is carried by curiosity and a real willingness to work together.
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