Scottish Institute For

After over 20 years supporting student enterprise and entrepreneurship in Scotland, the Scottish Institute for Enterprise has now closed. From its inception, SIE introduced a number of important firsts for Scotland and played a unique role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem; testing new initiatives and providing a core hub of enterprise activity & support in Scotland for students and educators. SIE was formally launched in 2000 with funding from the Office of Science and Technology to help five research-based universities boost the commercial potential of university science and technology research. The original partner institutions were: Dundee University, Edinburgh University, Glasgow University, Heriot Watt University and Strathclyde University. By its closing in 2021, SIE had expanded to work directly with emerging entrepreneurs across Scotland, providing students and recent graduates of Scottish HEIs with business support, guidance and funding through early-stage competitions tailored to bring new ideas to market. SIE fostered community through its close-knit entrepreneurs network, and pioneered innovation skills training at a national level through the massively popular SISA programme. The organisation consistently evolved over its lifespan to best suit the needs of students and educators and its ultimate success could not have happened without the commitment and support of dedicated partners in Scotland’s HEIs. We are immensely proud of the impact that SIE has had in supporting and developing Scotland as a world-recognised enterprise environment, and of the countless talented students and graduates who have gone on to flourish as founders, innovators and entrepreneurs with SIE’s backing. Our thanks go out to each of our partners, our incredible alumni, and to the Scottish entrepreneurial community as a whole for their years of support.