A new company is being created in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center to offer products developed by Virginia Tech's Division of Student Affairs. The Cooperative Leadership Institute “designs, develops, and delivers technology-enhanced leadership learning programs that create greater access to performance-driven learning," said Charles L. Lattimer, president of the start up.

The products are the Leadership Learning Management System, "a management tool for building relevant leadership development opportunities that are company-specific and competency-based," and Leadership Live!, an online gaming tool that allows teams to explore leadership case studies. "It is fun and engaging," Lattimer said.

"By using technology in new ways inside the leadership development process, The Corporate Leadership Institute has opened the door to a whole new family of products and services," said Jim Flowers, director of VT KnowledgeWorks, a technology business incubator that is a division of the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center.

The tools have already been used to build a leadership learning community for 200 managers and executives at a Bethesda, Md., company, Lattimer said.

The software products and systems were developed as part of Virginia Tech's Cooperative Leadership Initiative – a program that sought to provide educational resources for students by broadening access to professional leadership development and training. Such skills include decision-making, negotiation, and team building.

"The university realized there would be more opportunities in the private market,” Lattimer noted. “So, with the support and guidance of Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc. and VT KnowledgeWorks, we launched the Cooperative Leadership Institute,"

"Everyone wins," according to Flowers. "Virginia Tech will receive a share of the revenue so there is continued support for student programs, and we have a new enterprise that can grow and offer an important product.”

For more information on CLI products and services contact: Charles L. Lattimer at (540) 239-7768.

VT KnowledgeWorks encourages and supports inventors, researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors as they conceive, design, launch, and grow companies to financial independence. It is a division of the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, located near the intersection of US 460 and South Main Street in Blacksburg, VA. For additional information, including volunteer opportunities, contact Jim Flowers at (540) 443-9100, or visit the website at VT Knowledgeworks website.

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