New minister had no idea

Charlotte Sahl-Madsen was not expecting to be offered the post of Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, until yesterday. Now she is the government minister responsible for universities

by Peter Riddersborg, English version by Luci Ellis

Helge Sander will be replaced as Danish Minister of Science by Charlotte Sahl-Madsen, chairman of the Danfoss Universe Foundation, which promotes innovation and creativity in science teaching.

Read our summary of Helge Sander's work here.

Sahl-Madsen is an unexpected choice of Minister. Her name did not figure on the analysts' lists of possible candidates in recent speculations on the reshuffle.

Knows research

»It is a large and important field, and I am looking forward to working within it. I certainly have some ideas, but I want to chew them over one more time before I talk about them,« she says in an interview with Danish news site jv.dk.

Previously, she has worked to improve the communication of researchers’ results, and this means she has an extensive network, she points out.

Until yesterday, Charlotte Sahl-Madsen had no idea that she would be offered the position. The new minister is ‘neoconservative’ in the sense that she only yesterday became a member of the Conservative party.

Career in policy, Lego

Charlotte Sahl-Madsen has up to now had a career in industrial policy. She was a member of the Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs' expert panel on the 'experience' economy, and was also a board member of the ‘innovation unit’ at the same ministry.

Her earlier career path has also taken her along a road paved with coloured bricks; she has worked for toy giant Lego, in their VisionLab and as part of their research and development department.

uni-avis@adm.ku.dk

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