The Science Shop at the Technical University of Denmark
The first Danish Science Shop started at the technical University of Denmark in 1985 and in 1995 the Shop celebrated its 10th anniversary.

The idea comes from the Netherlands, where the very first Wetenshaps Winkel was an offshoot of the democratization of the universities in the late sixties. Since 1985 the Science Shop concept has spread to other Danish universities and now there are Shops at Roskilde University Centre, the Faculty of Social Science and the Faculty of Natural Science at the University of Copenhagen, the University Centre of Aalborg and the University of Odense.

The purpose of the Science Shop is to give access to university research to people and organizations - called users - for whom contact with a university is not normal practice - and to initiate interdisciplinary courses and research based upon the problems of the inquirers.

The Science Shop does not solve the problems of the inquirers. The task of the Shop is to establish contact between the users and the students and scientists of the University. Having a problem solved through the Science Shop is free of charge.

The Science Shop projects are mainly carried out by students as part of their training, but some of the inquiries result in research and survey projects. The Science Shop emphasizes the importance of good co-operation between the students and scientists on one side, and the users on the other side. Thus the Science Shop helps to prepare the students to fulfil their future role as experts in a way which, to a larger degree than is the tradition, includes the users' experience. The Science Shop has also arranged a course on co-operation with user groups.

The central issues of the inquiries have been: urban ecology, handicap equipment, organic food production, city and traffic planning, sustainable energy, external environment, working environment and developing countries. The inquiries come from non-profit organizations, organizations concerned with external environment and energy, housing movements, consumer organizations, handicap organizations and local trade unions and, during the 10 years from 1985 to 1995, more than 200 projects have been carried out.

In addition to opening the universities to groups that need expert help, it is the purpose of the Science Shop to contribute to the innovation of the Technical University by developing new interdisciplinary research and training based on the problems of the inquirers. In particular within urban ecology, cleaner technology, life cycle assessment, environmental management and organic food production, research projects have been implemented and new courses arranged.