Where knowledge becomes new opportunities

The history of Symbion began in 1984, when three researchers from the University of Copenhagen dared to challenge the norms of the time.

Back then, collaboration between academia and industry was almost unthinkable, but their idea to turn research into real-world value gained momentum.

Inspired by science parks in Lund and Cambridge and pushed by university layoffs, the founders rallied support from key industry partners. With funding from the state and municipalities, Denmark’s first startup environment began to take shape.

The name came later, on a ferry to Sweden, where “symbiosis” sparked the idea: Symbion.

You will find where to go next by decoding the hidden messages below.

Remember, you can always take a HINT, but the messages can be deciphered simply by using clues on the floor-plan maps.

Write below where you need to go next; no spaces. (XXXX)

Symbion has always been non-profit

From the very beginning, Symbion was built on one clear principle:
No one should profit from it except the entrepreneurs.

Symbion has a broad group of shareholders, including the University of Copenhagen, CBS and the Symbion Foundation, and all surplus is reinvested. In new locations. In modernizations. In communities, events, talks and celebrations. And in everything that makes life easier for start-ups: knowledge, talent, networks and connections.

In short, Symbion stands on its own so entrepreneurs can rise.

And sometimes, rising starts with simply looking up.
New perspectives appear when you shift position, spot a pattern, or notice something others overlook.

Write below which room number you are standing at after physical moving from the blue dot to the green X. (No spaces)

Built for growth, created for something bigger

When Symbion outgrew its first facilities in the early 90s, a crucial question emerged: How do you build a home for innovation, one that can grow alongside the ideas?

The answer was found on Fruebjergvej, in an old warehouse owned by Magasin.
A space designed for forklifts, not entrepreneurs.

Architect Wilhelm Berner-Nielsen was brought in, and together with the Symbion team, he reimagined the entire structure.

Three large light courts were carved into the building, allowing daylight, air and open space to form the foundation for a thriving research and start-up environment.

The old warehouse was transformed into flexible rentals, laboratories, co-working areas and communities where ideas could grow.

And that’s why you’re standing here around the center light court.
Some ideas only become clear when you look ahead, and down.

You are looking for hidden letters. Write down the letters. Assemble them.
Reveal the word at the heart of Symbion.

You are now at F 263 on the first floor.

The First Connection

On January 2, 1983, something historic happened:
Keld Simonsen received the first e-mail ever delivered in Denmark, sent from the Netherlands. Shortly after, he replied. That made it the first e-mail ever sent from Danish soil.

Keld Simonsen was a software pioneer, UNIX expert and member of DKUUG, the Danish UNIX User Group.
Already in the 80s, he had a feeling: everyone would use email; it would be bigger than fax.

In 1983, @ was not yet used in e-mail addresses. Instead, people wrote !, pronounced “bang”.
That is why the first Danish e-mail was sent to: mcvax!diku!keld

Innovation often begins with a single connection, and a place that allows experimentation.
Symbion was that place. And still is.

.ʜɔɒɘɿ uoy ɘƨɒɔɿiɒƚƨ ɘqɒɔƨɘ ɘɿiʇ ƚƨɿiʇ ɘʜƚ no ɿɘƚƚɘl ɘʜƚ ɘƚiɿW
.ƚƨɒɘ ylɘƚɒibɘmmi nɘʜƚ — ʜƚɿon ,ƚƨɒɘ ,ʜƚuoƨ ,ƚƨɘw oᎮ

ɿɘƚƚɘl ɘʜƚ ɘƚiɿW
.ʜɔɒɘɿ uoy ɘƨɒɔɿiɒƚƨ ɘqɒɔƨɘ ɘɿiʇ ƚƨɿiʇ ɘʜƚ no
,TƧAƎ ,HTUOƧ ,TƧƎW oᎮ
.TƧAƎ ylɘƚɒibɘmmi nɘʜƚ — HTЯOИ

You can mirror yourself in history and in the belief in a project, even when everyone else seems to be heading in a different direction. Then you have to take out the compass and trust that the path you see is the right one. And sometimes, you simply follow that path until you can’t go any further in the direction you chose.

We are looking for a letter ...

Shared Labs, Shared Vision

In the early ’90s, Symbion became a key launchpad for Denmark’s emerging biotech scene. With shared labs, equipment from the University of Copenhagen and Novo Nordisk, and a growing community of researchers and entrepreneurs, the old warehouse on Fruebjergvej quickly filled with companies testing bold new ideas.

From HIV medicine research to environmental analysis, early fertility science and even early genetic engineering, Symbion became a place where both small and larger companies joined in to test new technologies, all driven by the same experimental spirit.

In Symbion, green arrows guide you everywhere, to meeting rooms, conference spaces and new ideas waiting around each corner.
But this time, the arrows lead somewhere else.

They don’t point to a room… but to a letter.

Can you see it?

You are standing in the basement next to staircase A.

The Foundation, where everything begins