Issued by the University of Glasgow on behalf of the Universities of Dundee, Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt and Strathclyde

Carl Togneri has taken up this high-profile post as Director of the Scottish Institute for Enterprise (SIE) with effect from 8 January on a two-year secondment from her post as Director of Semiconductors at Scottish Enterprise under the Scottish Enterprise Staff Exchange Programme.

Professor Sir Graeme Davies, Principal of the University of Glasgow, speaking on behalf of the SIE, said "We are all delighted to welcome Carl to the post and to have someone with her drive, energy and experience to move the Institute forward from its early encouraging start."

The five leading Scottish research Universities: Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt and Strathclyde, formed a consortium to compete successfully for £4M of government funding to create the SIE, one of 12 in the UK.

The Institute aims to foster an entrepreneurial culture among students and staff across the five universities by promoting innovative approaches to the teaching of entrepreneurship and to underpin the active commercialisation roles by helping students make their businesses come alive.

The Director will play a crucial role in facilitating the activities of the five universities and linking these internal efforts to efforts in the wider entrepreneurial community.

Carl Togneri began her career in economic development at the Scottish Development Agency in 1989. A graduate of the University of Glasgow and the University of Strathclyde Graduate Business School, she has held various posts within the Scottish Enterprise Network including positions with Locate In Scotland and Renfrewshire Enterprise and most recently Director of Semiconductors at Scottish Enterprise.

Carl said: "I am thrilled to have this challenging opportunity to play my part in bolstering the emerging entrepreneurial spirit in Scotland and look forward to leading this collaborative initiative."

Irene Johnstone, Director of the Staff Exchange Programme at Scottish Enterprise said: "This is an excellent opportunity for Carl to share her knowledge with others in such an important new venture, building on the work and the relationships the Scottish Enterprise Network has developed with Scottish Universities. Our Staff Exchange Programme plays a key role in supporting our goal of sharing knowledge through partnerships."

Carl is based at the Institute's new offices at 25 Bothwell Street where she is supported by Sandhya Kapitan who joined the Institute in November as its Project Executive.

Media Relations Office (media@gla.ac.uk)

Further information: Contact Mike Brown, University of Glasgow Press Office, 0141 330 3535 or Kirstie Crawford, Senior Executive, Public Affairs, Scottish Enterprise, 0141 228 2876

The SIE originated in a bid by the five universities to the Government's Science Enterprise Challenge Fund set in the context of Scotland's economic strategy to develop the knowledge economy.

Recognising the historic under-achievement in Scotland to convert native inventiveness into economic opportunity, the five universities combined resources to build on their own expertise and achievements in commercialisation and entrepreneurial education with the intention of creating a world-class institute to promote and foster these skills.

The award was part of a ?25M competition to set up centres of enterprise in UK Universities. The ?4M awarded to the Scottish consortium led by the University of Glasgow was the highest award outside of London. When the SIE was formally launched in March 2000, Mr Henry McLeish, the then Minister of Enterprise and Lifelong Learing, said: "Exploiting Scotland's rich intellectual resources, and creating a more entrepreneurial culture, is the key to establishing a modern, knowledge-based economy. This new Enterprise Institute for Scotland.... is a significant step towards that common goal."

First published: 10 January 2001