This blog post was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of UK in Turkey

28th August 2014

Fantastic prizes – fully-paid trips to London for entrepreneurs

Technology is Great BritainI recently wrote about our quest to find the most brilliant Turkish entrepreneurs and invite them to visit London – at our expense.

It’s an incredible offer.  Round-trip tickets.  Paid accommodation and meals.  Guided tours.  Visits to venture capitalists.

To be honest, we copied it from our colleagues in the British Consulate-General in New York, who have done the same thing for several years to encourage top creative US start-ups to see what the UK can offer.

The great news is that for if you are a creative Turkish entrepreneur, it’s not too late to apply.  We’ve had a huge number of applications, but in our quest to find the most creative entrepreneurs in Turkey, we want to make sure we have the best possible applicants.  The deadline to apply is 30 September – coming up fast.

So if you want to grow your brilliant ideas by contact with London’s expertise and opportunity, apply now.  Full details of the competition – including prizes and how to apply – are on www.gov.uk/great-startup-turkey.

About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

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