Hanseatic League of Science

Hanseatic League of Science (HALOS) is a new EU project in the program area Öresund-Kattegatt-Skagerak (ÖKS) interreg that started 1st of February 2019. HALOS will build a unique collaboration between Hamburg and South-West Scandinavia, bring together the four unique research facilities MAX IV, ESS, DESY and European XFEL, and create a centre for integrated, world-leading Life Science innovation and research.
HALOS has a budget of 3.6 million EUR and enables further development of the highly successful ÖKS Interreg project ESS & MAX IV: Cross Border Science and Society. HALOS includes stakeholders from academia, regional development actors, research facilities and industry.

The HALOS collaboration, led by the Faculty of Medicine at Lund University, includes: Lund University, seven other academic research institutes in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Germany, MAX IV and ESS in Sweden, German DESY, European XFEL, the Medicon Valley Alliance (MVA), industry in MedTech, BioTech and Pharma, Region Skåne, the Capital Region of Denmark and the City of Hamburg.

The previous ESS & MAX IV: Cross Border Science and Society ÖKS Interreg project was very successful, not least for Life Science research. The subproject MAX4ESSFUN resulted in a large numer of cross border research collaborations wihtin areas of hard matter, soft matter as well as life science. HALOS has a direct focus on Life Science and excellent potential for synergies in both research and between the MAX IV, ESS, DESY and European XFEL facilities. HALOS will now expand in this area, and together with German colleagues and partners, further develop what we call the ÖSK-Hamburg region into a world-leading Life Science centre.

In order to develop the cooperation with Hamburg and a globally competitive Life Science centre, HALOS includes a regional development project, where overall mapping, analyses and seminars with key players result in common key messages and strategies. The focus is on innovation and so-called 'tech transfer', researcher mobility and linking business more closely with research facilities.

“Combining the complementary facilities DESY, European X-FEL and MAX IV, ESS creates synergy effects and a globally unique infrastructure region with incredible opportunities for research in Life Science. The extensive business partnership also plays a key role in advancing skills in the private sector as well as creating networks between the private sector and researchers. Ideas from the corporate world will also be highlighted and incorporated by various forums, in order to create opportunities for working together on important and major societal challenges.


The main part of the project will build expertise on using FEL light, synchrotron light, neutrons and electron applications in Life Science. The subproject will contain 41 six-month projects according to the MAX4ESSFUN model tested, with very good results, in the previous Interreg project ESS & MAX IV: Cross Border Science and Society. In HALOS, the model is developed further to include additional technologies, link more closely with business and specifically focus on the Life Science area.

Contact:
Kajsa M. Paulsson, a/professor, project manager for HALOS
+46-46-222 41 67, +46-70-608 338
[email protected]