In November, 2020, I was asked to lecture a group of BSc students in Canada, China, and Denmark who were being trained on how clusters of private companies, learning institutions, and government bodies advance industries on a global basis. I lectured on offshore wind using the Esbjerg cluster in Denmark as the case study with logistics and global supply chains as the context.
Wind turbine serial production started in the US and Denmark in 1979. Initially, the turbines were erected onshore and in 1991, Denmark took the initiative to put the first wind turbines offshore in the sea. The offshore wind cluster has therefore developed strongly in Denmark over time and nowhere is this more apparent than in Esbjerg.
The global BSc focusing on logistics and global supply chains was looking closer at examples of cluster formations where collaboration across the private sector, the government, and with learning institutions had worked successfully. The offshore wind cluster around the Danish port city of Esbjerg is one such practical example from real life.
I told the story of the global wind energy industry, the role of Denmark, and I focused on the Esbjerg cluster activity. I covered the role Esbjerg has played locally, in Denmark, within Europe, and globally. And I talked about other clusters on a national, regional, and global level again using the wind industry as the case study context. In putting together the lecture, my focus was to combine academic writings, theory, and practical experience from the field. As I have written about these topics myself, I was also able to make reference to academic publications of my own.
With several years of both practical and academic experience, I can lecture on offshore wind and logistics on both bachelor and masters level. I also give keynotes and take part in industry panels.