Corporate Innovation Days 2025: Innovating with Integrity
Corporate Innovation Days (CID) 2025 opened at SDC with a record number of participants. Close to 200 industry leaders, researchers, students and policymakers from Denmark and China gathered under the theme ‘Innovating with Integrity: Traceable, Verifiable, Accountable Innovation’.
The theme set the stage for two days focused on strengthening transparency, sustainability and responsible innovation across industries and institutions.
Cross-sector collaboration in focus
Across the programme, participants explored how innovation, sustainability and transparency can be advanced through partnerships between companies, universities and public organisations.
A highlight of day 1 was the 10 x 10 Company Fire Pitches, where Velux, Danfoss, Novonesis, Fujian Benz Automotive, Orient Sundar Group and others presented concise, ten-minute pitches, followed by panel perspectives from academia, business and policy.
Participants highlighted the strong engagement across both companies and students.
Meeja Neergaard, Public Diplomacy, Media and Culture Officer at ICDK Shanghai, noted:
‘This year we really succeeded in getting many companies to participate, and not only Danish ones but also Chinese companies. There was a very good balance. It was clearly noticeable, and at the same time the students were very engaged, and you could sense that they were aware that the knowledge they gained could be used very soon in their classes or in a project.’
ICDK has been on board as a partner since CID first launched in 2015, and Meeja Neergaard found this year’s theme particularly timely, pointing to a growing need for greater clarity and depth in how companies talk about innovation:
‘It is highly relevant to dig a bit deeper when talking about innovation so that it does not end up sounding like greenwashing. We need to focus on the companies and ask: what is it exactly that you do? How transparent are you? What can be traced? These are certainly questions that will come up when we work with Danish startups at inno-camps, but the Chinese companies will likely start asking themselves the same questions.’
Sustainability, tools and new connections
Day 2 continued with hands-on workshops, including “From ‘green intent’ to ‘green impact’”, facilitated by Heidi Berg, Sustainability and ESG Director at Danish Industry. The session examined the Digital Product Passport, a forthcoming EU tool that provides a digital record of a product’s materials, production and environmental footprint.
Heidi Berg also underlined the value of bringing different perspectives into the same room:
‘It is always important to bring people together… you never know what might emerge. There are often unexpected connections. I really like the 10 x 10 pitches — 10 companies presenting in a very spot-on way. You don’t have time to digest everything, but that’s not the point… the point is that we can use those conversations to spark further dialogue.’
Day 2 also placed a strong emphasis on careers and talent development, reflecting CID’s broader mission to connect academic learning with real-world pathways. Through the session “From Classroom to Career”, students engaged directly with company representatives from Mercedes, Orient Sundar, Qingyue and ICDK, who shared insights on internships, career trajectories and the skills shaping tomorrow’s job market.
Alumni presentations added another layer of inspiration, showing how SDC graduates translate their academic experience into impactful roles across industries. This career-focused programming underscored the importance of preparing young talent to work responsibly with data, sustainability and cross-cultural collaboration — competencies that lie at the heart of “Innovating with Integrity.”
This year’s co-organising partners and a new additions
This year marked the first time Danish Industry took part as a co-organising partner. Reflecting on Danish Industry’s involvement, Heidi Berg said:
‘Until now, we have not had a link to this kind of academic setting… with this year’s focus on sustainability it was a natural fit. I think there is significant potential for more research in China that will benefit Danish companies.’
A memorable highlight of Day 1 was the musical interlude by soprano Yinuo Wang, whose curated programme blended Danish, Chinese and European classical works. Presented in a year that marks 75 years of diplomatic relations between China and Denmark, the performance embodied the spirit of cultural exchange that has long underpinned cooperation between the two countries. By bringing together traditions, languages and artistic histories, the interlude expanded the theme “Innovating with Integrity” beyond technology and business — showing how culture and creativity also drive new forms of connection, understanding and responsible innovation. It served as a reminder that sustainable partnerships are built not only on knowledge and data, but also on shared cultural experiences and mutual appreciation.
Associate Professor Dmitrij Slepniov, Aalborg University, and Head of the Educational Programme in Innovation Management at SDC noted:
‘This year’s programme truly demonstrated how far CID has come. We introduced new formats, new perspectives and new ways of thinking about innovation — all grounded in the shared commitment to transparency, sustainability and integrity. I would like to express my sincere thanks to our co-organising partners, both long-standing and newly joined, for helping shape an agenda that brought real value to everyone involved. We were delighted to welcome participants from near and far, whose engagement made the discussions rich and relevant. And most importantly, I want to thank our Innovation Management students, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes. Their professionalism, creativity and energy ensured that CID 2025 became an enjoyable, smooth and truly meaningful experience for all.’
The two-day event was co-organised by Innovation Centre Denmark Shanghai (ICDK), the Danish Chamber of Commerce in China (DCCC), Danish Industry (DI), the Danish-Chinese Business Forum (DCBF) and SDC.
