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The happiest place on earth
THE INSIDER
The happiest place in the world With Scandinavia consistently topping well-being polls, could it offer British scientists a place of contentment? James Urquhart investigates
HOW’S your health? Do you socialise with friends regularly? Feel fulfilled after a day’s hard graft? I’m not just being nosy; these are strong indicators of the quality of your life. So says the UK-based New Economics Foundation (NEF), which has measured the well-being levels of European societies. Rather than use more traditional economic indicators to judge a population’s success, their National Accounts of Well-Being analysed well-being levels across 22 European countries by looking at personal factors such as relationships, life satisfaction and self-esteem. What emerged from the data was that, on average, Scandinavian populations boast consistently high levels of well-being compared with most other European countries (see “How are they feeling?”, page 52). 50 | NewScientist | 14 March 2009
To see how I fared in the feel-good stakes, I took NEF’s survey and came in with a pretty decent well-being rating of 4.9, on a 10-point scale, compared with the European average of 5. Yet I’m still far behind the Scandinavians, who come in with a score of 5.62. So what is it that makes the Nordic people so content? And does Scandinavia’s high level of well-being indicate a land of opportunity for a scientist looking for a fresh start?
Positive vibes Nordic nations are infamous for their high taxes, yet nevertheless seem to experience more positive and less negative feelings than the rest of us. Carl-Henrik Heldin, director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
(LICR) in Uppsala, Sweden, reckons this is because Scandinavians are rarely disappointed, due in part to a solid support system. “Scandinavian countries all have the sort of societies that provide good support, good social networks and have trustworthy, dependable systems,” he says. This was certainly true for UK-born Sarah Butcher, at Finland’s Centre of Excellence in Virus Research at the University of Helsinki’s Institute of Biotechnology. She began a new life in Finland 11 years ago. She says excellent public services, including free healthcare, efficient public transport and subsidised childcare compensate for high taxes. “Every child has the right to a place in the town-run day-care centre and it costs about €230 a month, including food,” she says. “As a female scientist
To search more opportunities go to www.NewScientistJobs.com
A “natural laboratory” surrounds the Volcanological Centre in Iceland
bail out associated biotech companies. But it is not only in times of trouble that the money flows. Nordic countries regularly top the European charts for R&D investment, with Sweden in first place investing 3.73 per cent of its GDP and Finland coming in a close second with 3.45 per cent. “There are reasons to be optimistic, because the amount of funding for research is increasing in the coming years,” says Heldin. “This is a good time for a scientist to be thinking of moving to Sweden.”
NILS PETTER DALE
The great outdoors
and mother, this is one of the biggest advantages of going to any of the Scandinavian countries.” Like Butcher, many British scientists head to the Scandinavian shores to join one of its world-class institutions in the field of biotechnology. BioTurku, Finland’s biotech cluster around Turku, is a particularly successful research network that supports about 80 companies and several academic research institutes, all collaborating to produce drugs, biomaterials and biofoods. Collaboration underpins most of Scandinavia’s innovative research centres. Travel west across the Gulf of Bothnia and Sweden’s long-standing biotechnology and pharmaceutical traditions also demonstrate strong collaborative networks. A large
presence exists in the Stockholm-Uppsala region, which is home to major biopharma companies as well as research bodies like the Stockholm branch of the LICR, at the Karolinska Institute. Even further afield sit biotech clusters Medicon Valley and MedCoast
“You soon realise you get paid more and your sick leave is generous… so you’re taken care of” Scandinavia, which form cross-border partnerships with Denmark and Norway (see map, page 52). Researchers can rely on monetary support, too. When the Oslo Cancer Cluster recently had difficulties with funding, the Norwegian government pledged around £300 million to
As much Nordic research is based around the environment and geoscience, is Scandinavia’s impressive well-being associated with being social and enjoying the outdoors, too? “A lot of people like me are here because we like the outdoor life,” agrees Gunnar Sand, director of the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), an academic outpost that conducts Arctic climate research and teaching in conjunction with Norway’s mainland university system. Even at 78° north, in the high-Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, the northernmost part of Norway, there are still plenty of activities to keep you entertained. “Even in this harsh climate we have tremendous opportunities to get out into the countryside to go skiing or boating, and that keeps you healthy,” Sand says. The sparsely populated Nordic mainland means that nature is always in reach, even in larger urban areas like Oslo. Norway’s capital city has a forested green-belt, Nordmarka, which is dotted with hiking and skiing trails. British expat Karen Mair, a geologist at the University of Oslo’s Centre of Excellence in the Physics of Geological Processes, reckons an outdoor spirit is required to make the most of Scandinavian living, especially in Norway with its mountain slopes and winding fjords. However, the high cost of living is initially a shock, says Mair. “Skis are possibly the only thing you get a bargain on here.” Although you may need to make a few sacrifices to adjust to Nordic living – Mair doesn’t run a car “because it’s extremely expensive” – Scandinavian governments help ease the burden by offering tax breaks to newcomers for the first two to four years, depending on your destination. “You soon realise you get paid more and your sick leave is quite generous, so if something bad happens you’re taken care of,” she says. > 14 March 2009 | NewScientist | 51
THE INSIDER
Scandinavia’s research centres ICELAND
School for Renewable Energy Science
20th
World Economic Forum competitive ranking 2008
FINLAND World Economic Forum competitive ranking 2008
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Population 0.3 million
Akureyri
REYKJAVIK
Spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP 2006
6th
Population 5.3 million Spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP 2006
3.45%
2.78% Most problematic factor for doing business: Access to financing
University of Reykjavik Innovation Centre, Iceland
Most problematic factor for doing business: Restrictive labour regulations
NORWAY World Economic Forum competitive ranking 2008
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Centre for Renewable Energy, Trondheim
Spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP 2006
FIN NLAN AN A ND
1.49%
Tampere University of Technology
SWE S WED DEN N
Trondheim
NORWAY NOR WAY Oslo Cancer Cluster University of Oslo
University of Helsinki Finnish Bioindustries
BIOTURKU Turku
Uppsala University Uppsala
OSLO
HELSINKI
Gothenburg
RUS U SIA IA A
Lund University COPENHAGEN
World Economic Forum competitive ranking 2008
LATVIA A
Lund
MEDICON VALLEY
National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy
Spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP 2006
BELARU BEL A S
University of Copenhagen Technical University of Denmark
3rd
Population 5.5 million
LITHUANIA
Malmo
Most problematic factor for doing business: Tax rates
DENMARK
BALTIC SEA
DENMARK
4th
Population 9.1 million
3.82%
Karolinska Institute Stockholm University Bert Bolin Centre for Climate Research
MEDCOAST
World Economic Forum competitive ranking 2008
Spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP 2006
University of Turku Biocity Turku
STOCKHOLM
G MAN GER NY
Most problematic factor for doing business: Restrictive labour regulations
SWEDEN Tampere
NORTH SEA
15th
Population 4.7 million
2.43% Most problematic factor for doing business: Tax rates
POL OLAND OL AN AND
Spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP average in Europe 1.84%
How are they feeling? James Urquhart compares his well-being to the average Scandinavian’s
Trust and belonging
Supportive relationships
Urquhart’s results
Positive feelings 7 6 5 4
Absence of negative feelings
Positive functioning Resiliance and self-esteem
52 | NewScientist | 14 March 2009
Country average
Satisfying life
Vitality
SWEDEN
FINLAND
DENMARK
NORWAY SOURCE: SOURCE: NATIONALACCOUNTSOFWELLBEING.ORG NATIONALACCOUNTSOFWELLBEING.ORG
European average
For more Insider articles, visit www.NewScientistJobs.com
There’s a saying among Scandinavians: if you don’t like the weather, just wait 10 minutes. So how do Scandinavians’ cope with life’s difficulties during their seasonal extremes? “Finland and Scandinavia in general has a culture of dark and light,” says Butcher. “In the winter time we are very focused and work hard because it’s dark most of the time, and then in the summer we really enjoy the light and getting out.” Much of this work is concentrated in climate change research. Although Scandinavia has an abundance of natural resources like oil and gas, it is investing in improving its environmental impact. For example, the Norwegian government is planning to build a £500 million research centre that will develop technologies to capture carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels. The Research Council of Norway has also selected eight Centres for EnvironmentFriendly Energy Research, each of which will receive £2 million annually for at least five years. The RCN is hopeful that these centres will become international leaders in energy research while stimulating industrial activity and also creating plenty of employment opportunities for researchers. Denmark, which is hosting the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2009, is also leading by example in the renewable energy sector. Forty per cent of the world’s
UNIS
Sustainable future
wind energy companies are based here, providing work for about 20,000 people. To maintain this position, researchers at the Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy at the Technical University of Denmark, Roskilde, are busy developing energy tools of the future, including hydrogen storage and fuel cell technology. “It’s a big research area for Denmark,” says Malcolm McGugan, a development engineer at Risø
NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS While the global credit crunch may have put a downer on Iceland’s economic well-being, its subjective well-being has not suffered. “We have the most beautiful people, clean air, and the best fish,” jokes Arnbjörn Ólafsson, director of international affairs at the School of Renewable Energy Science. There are also plenty of outdoor activities, says Amy Clifton, a retired structural geologist from the US who moved to Iceland 10 years ago. “Every town has an outdoor geothermal pool and people cycle to work even in the most outrageous weather.” What’s more, Iceland sets
a great example of how to use renewable energy efficiently. The country has invested huge amounts of money and research into developing the technological know-how that now makes it self-sufficient in all its domestic electricity and heating. While most energy is derived from geothermal and hydropower, 20 per cent of Iceland’s total energy usage still originates from fossil fuels. So other fuel technologies, like hydrogen, are also in development which means investment in renewable energy is on the increase, says Ólafsson. Most R&D investment in Iceland, however, goes to its health sector, with the deCODE
Genetics biopharmaceutical company a big winner. There is also extensive interest in Iceland’s geologic and volcanic activity, which is a considerable asset for the country’s wellestablished earth science field. Indeed, for Clifton, who previously worked on an exposed 200-million-year-old Mesozoic rift in the US, Iceland’s natural environment offered a chance to see her research in action. Working at the Nordic Volcanological Centre at the University of Iceland (pictured, page 50), Clifton had the unique opportunity to study active fault zones. “It is absolutely the best place to do that,” she says. “Iceland is a natural laboratory.”
A weekend skiing is one of the many outdoor activities a life in Scandinavia offers
who works on wind-turbine blades. “It’s not a big country, so they want to focus on areas that they’re going to get results in, like energy and biotechnology.” Eight years ago, McGugan moved to Denmark from the UK to marry his Danish girlfriend. Having family there made it easier to integrate into Danish society, which can sometimes be difficult. “Danes are very friendly and very family orientated, so they’ll come to work and be friends there, but at the end of the day they want to go back to their families,” says McGugan. Daniel Partridge, a British expat who is currently studying for a PhD at Stockholm University’s Department of Applied Environmental Science recommends scientists join sports clubs and societies to aid their transition into the community. He adds that despite the fact that most Scandinavians speak perfect English, making an effort to learn the home language is key to making friends. “This helps Swedes to accept you within their close friendship groups,” he says. Whichever Scandinavian country you choose, it appears unlikely that you will be dissatisfied with your lifestyle. Perhaps I, too, would benefit from some midnight sun in the Scandinavian night sky. ■ James Urquhart is a freelance science writer based in Edinburgh 14 March 2009 | NewScientist | 53
The happiest place in the world With Scandinavia consistently topping well-being polls, could it offer British scientists a place of contentment? James Urquhart investigates
HOW’S your health? Do you socialise with friends regularly? Feel fulfilled after a day’s hard graft? I’m not just being nosy; these are strong indicators of the quality of your life. So says the UK-based New Economics Foundation (NEF), which has measured the well-being levels of European societies. Rather than use more traditional economic indicators to judge a population’s success, their National Accounts of Well-Being analysed well-being levels across 22 European countries by looking at personal factors such as relationships, life satisfaction and self-esteem. What emerged from the data was that, on average, Scandinavian populations boast consistently high levels of well-being compared with most other European countries (see “How are they feeling?”, page 52). 50 | NewScientist | 14 March 2009
To see how I fared in the feel-good stakes, I took NEF’s survey and came in with a pretty decent well-being rating of 4.9, on a 10-point scale, compared with the European average of 5. Yet I’m still far behind the Scandinavians, who come in with a score of 5.62. So what is it that makes the Nordic people so content? And does Scandinavia’s high level of well-being indicate a land of opportunity for a scientist looking for a fresh start?
Positive vibes Nordic nations are infamous for their high taxes, yet nevertheless seem to experience more positive and less negative feelings than the rest of us. Carl-Henrik Heldin, director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
(LICR) in Uppsala, Sweden, reckons this is because Scandinavians are rarely disappointed, due in part to a solid support system. “Scandinavian countries all have the sort of societies that provide good support, good social networks and have trustworthy, dependable systems,” he says. This was certainly true for UK-born Sarah Butcher, at Finland’s Centre of Excellence in Virus Research at the University of Helsinki’s Institute of Biotechnology. She began a new life in Finland 11 years ago. She says excellent public services, including free healthcare, efficient public transport and subsidised childcare compensate for high taxes. “Every child has the right to a place in the town-run day-care centre and it costs about €230 a month, including food,” she says. “As a female scientist
To search more opportunities go to www.NewScientistJobs.com
A “natural laboratory” surrounds the Volcanological Centre in Iceland
bail out associated biotech companies. But it is not only in times of trouble that the money flows. Nordic countries regularly top the European charts for R&D investment, with Sweden in first place investing 3.73 per cent of its GDP and Finland coming in a close second with 3.45 per cent. “There are reasons to be optimistic, because the amount of funding for research is increasing in the coming years,” says Heldin. “This is a good time for a scientist to be thinking of moving to Sweden.”
NILS PETTER DALE
The great outdoors
and mother, this is one of the biggest advantages of going to any of the Scandinavian countries.” Like Butcher, many British scientists head to the Scandinavian shores to join one of its world-class institutions in the field of biotechnology. BioTurku, Finland’s biotech cluster around Turku, is a particularly successful research network that supports about 80 companies and several academic research institutes, all collaborating to produce drugs, biomaterials and biofoods. Collaboration underpins most of Scandinavia’s innovative research centres. Travel west across the Gulf of Bothnia and Sweden’s long-standing biotechnology and pharmaceutical traditions also demonstrate strong collaborative networks. A large
presence exists in the Stockholm-Uppsala region, which is home to major biopharma companies as well as research bodies like the Stockholm branch of the LICR, at the Karolinska Institute. Even further afield sit biotech clusters Medicon Valley and MedCoast
“You soon realise you get paid more and your sick leave is generous… so you’re taken care of” Scandinavia, which form cross-border partnerships with Denmark and Norway (see map, page 52). Researchers can rely on monetary support, too. When the Oslo Cancer Cluster recently had difficulties with funding, the Norwegian government pledged around £300 million to
As much Nordic research is based around the environment and geoscience, is Scandinavia’s impressive well-being associated with being social and enjoying the outdoors, too? “A lot of people like me are here because we like the outdoor life,” agrees Gunnar Sand, director of the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), an academic outpost that conducts Arctic climate research and teaching in conjunction with Norway’s mainland university system. Even at 78° north, in the high-Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, the northernmost part of Norway, there are still plenty of activities to keep you entertained. “Even in this harsh climate we have tremendous opportunities to get out into the countryside to go skiing or boating, and that keeps you healthy,” Sand says. The sparsely populated Nordic mainland means that nature is always in reach, even in larger urban areas like Oslo. Norway’s capital city has a forested green-belt, Nordmarka, which is dotted with hiking and skiing trails. British expat Karen Mair, a geologist at the University of Oslo’s Centre of Excellence in the Physics of Geological Processes, reckons an outdoor spirit is required to make the most of Scandinavian living, especially in Norway with its mountain slopes and winding fjords. However, the high cost of living is initially a shock, says Mair. “Skis are possibly the only thing you get a bargain on here.” Although you may need to make a few sacrifices to adjust to Nordic living – Mair doesn’t run a car “because it’s extremely expensive” – Scandinavian governments help ease the burden by offering tax breaks to newcomers for the first two to four years, depending on your destination. “You soon realise you get paid more and your sick leave is quite generous, so if something bad happens you’re taken care of,” she says. > 14 March 2009 | NewScientist | 51
THE INSIDER
Scandinavia’s research centres ICELAND
School for Renewable Energy Science
20th
World Economic Forum competitive ranking 2008
FINLAND World Economic Forum competitive ranking 2008
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Population 0.3 million
Akureyri
REYKJAVIK
Spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP 2006
6th
Population 5.3 million Spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP 2006
3.45%
2.78% Most problematic factor for doing business: Access to financing
University of Reykjavik Innovation Centre, Iceland
Most problematic factor for doing business: Restrictive labour regulations
NORWAY World Economic Forum competitive ranking 2008
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Centre for Renewable Energy, Trondheim
Spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP 2006
FIN NLAN AN A ND
1.49%
Tampere University of Technology
SWE S WED DEN N
Trondheim
NORWAY NOR WAY Oslo Cancer Cluster University of Oslo
University of Helsinki Finnish Bioindustries
BIOTURKU Turku
Uppsala University Uppsala
OSLO
HELSINKI
Gothenburg
RUS U SIA IA A
Lund University COPENHAGEN
World Economic Forum competitive ranking 2008
LATVIA A
Lund
MEDICON VALLEY
National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy
Spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP 2006
BELARU BEL A S
University of Copenhagen Technical University of Denmark
3rd
Population 5.5 million
LITHUANIA
Malmo
Most problematic factor for doing business: Tax rates
DENMARK
BALTIC SEA
DENMARK
4th
Population 9.1 million
3.82%
Karolinska Institute Stockholm University Bert Bolin Centre for Climate Research
MEDCOAST
World Economic Forum competitive ranking 2008
Spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP 2006
University of Turku Biocity Turku
STOCKHOLM
G MAN GER NY
Most problematic factor for doing business: Restrictive labour regulations
SWEDEN Tampere
NORTH SEA
15th
Population 4.7 million
2.43% Most problematic factor for doing business: Tax rates
POL OLAND OL AN AND
Spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP average in Europe 1.84%
How are they feeling? James Urquhart compares his well-being to the average Scandinavian’s
Trust and belonging
Supportive relationships
Urquhart’s results
Positive feelings 7 6 5 4
Absence of negative feelings
Positive functioning Resiliance and self-esteem
52 | NewScientist | 14 March 2009
Country average
Satisfying life
Vitality
SWEDEN
FINLAND
DENMARK
NORWAY SOURCE: SOURCE: NATIONALACCOUNTSOFWELLBEING.ORG NATIONALACCOUNTSOFWELLBEING.ORG
European average
For more Insider articles, visit www.NewScientistJobs.com
There’s a saying among Scandinavians: if you don’t like the weather, just wait 10 minutes. So how do Scandinavians’ cope with life’s difficulties during their seasonal extremes? “Finland and Scandinavia in general has a culture of dark and light,” says Butcher. “In the winter time we are very focused and work hard because it’s dark most of the time, and then in the summer we really enjoy the light and getting out.” Much of this work is concentrated in climate change research. Although Scandinavia has an abundance of natural resources like oil and gas, it is investing in improving its environmental impact. For example, the Norwegian government is planning to build a £500 million research centre that will develop technologies to capture carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels. The Research Council of Norway has also selected eight Centres for EnvironmentFriendly Energy Research, each of which will receive £2 million annually for at least five years. The RCN is hopeful that these centres will become international leaders in energy research while stimulating industrial activity and also creating plenty of employment opportunities for researchers. Denmark, which is hosting the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2009, is also leading by example in the renewable energy sector. Forty per cent of the world’s
UNIS
Sustainable future
wind energy companies are based here, providing work for about 20,000 people. To maintain this position, researchers at the Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy at the Technical University of Denmark, Roskilde, are busy developing energy tools of the future, including hydrogen storage and fuel cell technology. “It’s a big research area for Denmark,” says Malcolm McGugan, a development engineer at Risø
NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS While the global credit crunch may have put a downer on Iceland’s economic well-being, its subjective well-being has not suffered. “We have the most beautiful people, clean air, and the best fish,” jokes Arnbjörn Ólafsson, director of international affairs at the School of Renewable Energy Science. There are also plenty of outdoor activities, says Amy Clifton, a retired structural geologist from the US who moved to Iceland 10 years ago. “Every town has an outdoor geothermal pool and people cycle to work even in the most outrageous weather.” What’s more, Iceland sets
a great example of how to use renewable energy efficiently. The country has invested huge amounts of money and research into developing the technological know-how that now makes it self-sufficient in all its domestic electricity and heating. While most energy is derived from geothermal and hydropower, 20 per cent of Iceland’s total energy usage still originates from fossil fuels. So other fuel technologies, like hydrogen, are also in development which means investment in renewable energy is on the increase, says Ólafsson. Most R&D investment in Iceland, however, goes to its health sector, with the deCODE
Genetics biopharmaceutical company a big winner. There is also extensive interest in Iceland’s geologic and volcanic activity, which is a considerable asset for the country’s wellestablished earth science field. Indeed, for Clifton, who previously worked on an exposed 200-million-year-old Mesozoic rift in the US, Iceland’s natural environment offered a chance to see her research in action. Working at the Nordic Volcanological Centre at the University of Iceland (pictured, page 50), Clifton had the unique opportunity to study active fault zones. “It is absolutely the best place to do that,” she says. “Iceland is a natural laboratory.”
A weekend skiing is one of the many outdoor activities a life in Scandinavia offers
who works on wind-turbine blades. “It’s not a big country, so they want to focus on areas that they’re going to get results in, like energy and biotechnology.” Eight years ago, McGugan moved to Denmark from the UK to marry his Danish girlfriend. Having family there made it easier to integrate into Danish society, which can sometimes be difficult. “Danes are very friendly and very family orientated, so they’ll come to work and be friends there, but at the end of the day they want to go back to their families,” says McGugan. Daniel Partridge, a British expat who is currently studying for a PhD at Stockholm University’s Department of Applied Environmental Science recommends scientists join sports clubs and societies to aid their transition into the community. He adds that despite the fact that most Scandinavians speak perfect English, making an effort to learn the home language is key to making friends. “This helps Swedes to accept you within their close friendship groups,” he says. Whichever Scandinavian country you choose, it appears unlikely that you will be dissatisfied with your lifestyle. Perhaps I, too, would benefit from some midnight sun in the Scandinavian night sky. ■ James Urquhart is a freelance science writer based in Edinburgh 14 March 2009 | NewScientist | 53