17 December 2024
As the year draws to a close, we are grateful as we look back on another great year at Digital Research Centre Denmark (DIREC). From the very beginning, our mission has been to conduct world-class research across geography and disciplines and unite the digital ecosystem for research and innovation and contribute to the development of responsible digital solutions that promote Denmark’s growth and welfare.
Since 2020, we’ve had the privilege of launching nearly 50 projects, all designed to foster collaboration among researchers from universities and between research and industry. Visiting these projects and seeing how new collaborations have taken shape has been inspiring. Some of the collaborations created have already laid the groundwork for securing additional research funding, further strengthening the partnerships developed in the projects.
This year, we’ve also had the pleasure of co-creating some incredible events that unite the ecosystem. We’re very proud of the D3A conference, co-hosted with the Pioneer Centre for AI and the Danish Data Science Academy, which brought together more than 500 researchers to share insights, gain new knowledge, exchange ideas, and build valuable connections. We are well underway with the planning of the third edition, which will take place on August 26-27, 2025. Other highlights of 2024 included the Digital Tech Summit as well as our events targeted young researchers, such as Young Researcher Entrepreneurship Bootcamp and DIREC PhD day.
From a media perspective, 2024 has been the year of AI with a twist of quantum computing. As digital technology takes center stage, DIREC has been fortunate to be part of the conversation. While AI strongly influences the agenda, we remain committed to balancing this focus with other equally important research areas, including software engineering and architecture, cybersecurity, verification, user interface design, data privacy, robotics, embedded systems, handling large datasets, clever algorithms, and digital business models. We firmly believe that combining these fields is the key to creating successful and innovative solutions.
Just before the year ended, we received excellent news that DIREC will receive additional funding for 2025-2026 from Forskningsreserven. This funding allows us to continue our work and explore new ways to further develop a world-class digital research ecosystem right here in Denmark. But we cannot do it alone – we rely on your continued support and collaboration.
Looking ahead to 2025, we are filled with excitement for what’s to come. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and we look forward to joining forces in the new year.
Warm regards,
Thomas Riisgaard Hansen
