November 23, 2012, Copenhagen, Denmark - Sino European Life Science Association (SELSA) successfully held the preparatory meeting in Carlsberg Akademi, Copenhagen, Denmark. At the conference, the association announced that its launch was dedicated to strengthen the scientific cooperation and innovation in life science between China and European countries. This meeting represents a kick-start of the establishment of SELSA. A formal inaugural ceremony will be held in the early of 2013.
As an independent non-profit organization, SELSA is committed to better accelerate the development of life science research and applications. The staff work at SELAS will identify and address issues and concerns unique to Chinese and European life science professionals, and will help the members to better meet the various challenges of life science industry.
Professor Huanming Yang will serve as the Chairman of SELSA. He is an Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and a member of the German National Academy of Sciences. In the meeting, Professor Yang expressed his appreciation to the attendees, and said, "The primary mission of SELSA is to provide an excellent communication platform for Chinese and European researchers. I believe the establishment of the association will add immense value on science advancement and application as well as motivate more collaboration between China and Europe."
The meeting was hosted by the association advisor, Prof. Søren Nørby. He was glad about the turn out of this event and the active support from the attendees on the establishment of SELSA. During the meeting, several excellent presentations were delivered, with a major focus on the exchange of the latest cutting-edge knowledge in life science between China and Europe.
Ms. Susanne Hyldelund, Head of Invest in Denmark, Innovation & Partnerships at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, said, "The key to future prosperity lies in cross-border collaboration. Life Sciences is a Danish stronghold and we are very aware that the only way we can retain our position as global frontrunners within this sector is to engage with the world around us. With new ideas and innovative solutions, our societies can become more prosperous, inclusive, and more able to tackle issues of common interest and mutual benefit."
Prof. Ko, the world's leading Neurosurgery, Royal Academician from UK, said: "The association has excellent initiative to gather Chinese researchers in Europe, and I am very positive with the idea to unite Chinese scientists in Europe as well as provide a platform to bridge the communication not only between Chinese and also with European scientists. I believe we can achieve great results together."
"One of the goals of EMBO is to promote interactions between European life scientists and researchers working in other countries across the world," said Dr. Anne-Marie Glynn, Head of Global Activities at EMBO and Manager of the EMBO Courses & Workshops Programme, "Science is an international activity that benefits from collaborations and SELSA's opening event is an ideal forum for EMBO to discuss and explore new opportunities for global interactions."
Dr. Martin Bonde, Chairman of the Danish Biotech Association was delighted to see the establishment of the association. He said, "I am pleased to see the pre-start of the association is hosted in Denmark. This is a great initiative to provide this communication platform and accelerate the collaboration between China and Europe. Globalisation is here, and China is becoming more interesting and we would like to have more interactions with Chinese researchers and scholars."
Director of Biopeople Dr. Per Spindler said, "The community of the Chinese and European life science professionals, and the associated networks, have a long history. We have already seen many exiting interactions between Denmark and China such as government, university and industry collaborations and venture. We have experienced the mutual benefit of such interactions, and we wish to foster even more interactions and innovations in the next future. We have mutual interest to leverage our relationships, cultures and markets, and thus we need to create even more interactions to the benefit of our industries and academia. SELSA is serving as a platform that enables the facilitation of such new interactions. Biopeople is honoured to co-organise the kick-off event of SELSA in Copenhagen together with friends at BGI Europe and DANSK BIOTEK.
The event was sponsored by BGI Europe and Orphazyme Aps. Around 80 luminaries, experts and government officials from leading Danish and European research centers, universities, biotech industries and governments attended this meeting, including University of Copenhagen, Association of Chinese Experts in Denmark, World Federation of Chinese Neurosurgeons, EMBO Global Activities, British-Chinese Medical Society, Biopeople, and the Danish Biotech Association, among others.
About SELSA,
SELSA aims to promote social and scientific collaboration among Chinese and European professionals in Life Science field. Furthermore, SELSA aspires to serve as a platform to facilitate members' communication across Europe and share the latest cutting-edge knowledge in Life science.