Novozymes looks to India for talent

Biotech company Novozymes and the Holck-Larsen Foundation have joined forces to work with Danish universities to set up a scientist exchange program – said to be the first of its kind – between India and Denmark.

“With many, many excellent universities, India has a large population of talented scientists," said Per Falholt, Executive Vice President and head of R&D at Novozymes. “At the same time Novozymes has a need for talented scientists with a global mindset. Denmark also educates excellent biotechnologists, who could benefit from going on an international assignment to give them a more global perspective. My dream is to connect Indian and Danish science in the field of biotechnology."

India is said to have some 12 million students.

Novozymes has a significant business in India with over 400 employees. In recent years, the company has invested to develop an R&D facility in Bangalore. The new exchange program will also, Novozymes believes, help to attract scientists with an international mindset and develop the company as an attractive career opportunity in India’s scientific community.

The new exchange program is funded to the tune of DKK 2 million a year by Novozymes and the Holck-Larsen Foundation. The program will run from 2013 to 2019, and each year it will allow approximately 25 scientists to participate in exchange visits between India and Denmark. The funds will be managed by the Technical University of Denmark, the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus University.

The Holck-Larsen Foundation was established by the Danish-Indian engineer Henning Holck-Larsen who, together with fellow engineer Søren Toubro, founded the Indian company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in 1938. Today, Larsen & Toubro is an international company with multibillion-U.S. dollar revenue.