The launch this week of a new Centre for Enterprise and Innovation highlights how often successful commercial enterprises result from research and development work at Southampton University.

Its aim will be to encourage a "culture of entrepreneurship" in the wake of a string of already successful ventures led by the university.

Key among them was the formation of Southampton Photonics, which designs and manufactures optical fibre- based components for the telecommunications industry. It has attracted the largest-ever first-round funding of any European start-up business by raising $55m on the strength of work carried out in the university's opto-electronics research centre.

"We are looking for support and advice from members of the business community in a number of ways,'' said Dr Tony Raven, who heads the centre.

"For our new initiatives, we need mentors from the entrepreneur community, from professional services companies and from people working in high technology industries.

"We will also be looking for people who wish to work in companies we spin out, particularly with management experience in early-stage companies, and as non-executive directors who will work with our new companies.''

The university is a leading teaching and research institution in the UK with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship.

With more than 20,000 students and over 4,500 staff, it contributes £215m a year to the regional economy.