Innovation projects apply knowledge in practice – and presents new perspectives on research
Researchers at the IT University of Copenhagen, Cancan Wang and Bernardo David, have secured funding from Copenhagen Fintech to realize their respective innovation projects in a private sector context. Innovation projects allow researchers to apply their knowledge in practice and gain new research insights.
Bernardo Machado DavidCancan WangBusiness IT DepartmentComputer Science DepartmentResearchfintechgrants
Written 16 June, 2022 13:02 by Theis Duelund Jensen
ITU researchers Cancan Wang and Bernardo David have both received funding from Copenhagen Fintech for their respective innovation projects. Cancan Wang, who is Associate Professor at the Business IT Department at ITU, is working on a project titled CAREinFintech which seeks to quantify sustainability efforts by developing a Collaborative Data Analytics model via co-design. Bernardo David, who is Associate Professor at Computer Science, will be working on new techniques that address problems of theft, market manipulation and lack of privacy in decentralized exchanges.
What sets innovation projects apart from research projects is the fact that they are developed in collaboration with actors in the private sector with the stated goal of applying research findings in a real-world context.
Both innovation projects are the result of a partnership between ITU and Copenhagen Fintech which is part of the National Danish Cluster programme supported by the Danish Board of Business Development (Danmarks Erhvervsfremmebestyrelse) and the Ministry of Higher Education and Science (Uddannelses- og Forskningsministeriet). The purpose of the National Cluster Program is to support the cluster ecosystems and especially the small and medium sized companies in terms of innovation.
Opportunity to build bridges
To qualify for funding, innovation projects must involve at least two external actors. As such, an innovation project provides an excellent opportunity to build a bridge between research community and the private sector.
“Innovation projects may provide researchers with new insights on their field of expertise as well as broaden networks in the private sector for future collaborations,” says Nikolaj Oppermann, who together with Peter Ibsen is in charge of the ITU Business Unit tasked with forging connections between the research community and businesses and public sector organizations.
ITU works with the national clusters that pertain to IT and technology in a broad sense. In addition to fintech, the university is currently working with the DigitalLEAD cluster, focused on digital innovation, and the Lifestyle & Design Cluster which seeks to promote innovation and sustainable growth in the creative industries.
“In the ITU Business Unit, we work to promote this type of collaborative projects among ITU researchers, because they, as well as society in general, stand to gain a lot from the exchange,” says Nikolaj Oppermann.
“Both when it comes to exploring the innovation potential in the current project but also in terms of generating insights and findings that can create the basis for new research projects. So, we want to encourage all researchers at the university who want to know more about the possibilities of proposing innovation projects to get in touch with us.”
For more information, please contact Nikolaj Oppermann, nopp@itu.dk