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SUMMARY
New technology-based business enterprises need qualified and highly motivated entrepreneurs with access to technical resources, facilities and expertise. This paper describes two training programmes for graduate technologists, which assist the transition from full-time education to successful entrepreneurial activity. The programmes are the European Technology Entrepreneurs Programme (ETEP) operating in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland, and Tijdelijke Onderemers Plaatsen (Temporal Entrepreneurial Placement, TOP) which operates in the Twente region of the Netherlands. Both programmes are sponsored by partnerships of universities and public authorities. The structures and features of ETEP and TOP, and the operating experiences since 1984, are described and discussed. It is concluded that technology entrepreneur development can be accelerated with the support of programmes such as ETEP and TOP. Arrangements for continued collaboration between the centres involved now includes participation in the EC SPRINT programme.