Martinsville, VA- GENEDGE ALLIANCE, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership for the Commonwealth of Virginia, will host a 3-day training session to help Virginia businesses better understand the concepts of innovation. At the Innovation Engineering Leadership Institute training the participants learn a system approach to implementing innovation within their organizations using on-line tools with support from GENEDGE ALLIANCE. The Honorable Jim Cheng, Secretary of Commerce & Trade for the Commonwealth of Virginia, has agreed to deliver a keynote speech during lunch on the third day of the event, September 28, 2011. This leadership event will be at the Marriott Westfields Washington Dulles in Chantilly, Virginia, Sept. 26-28, 2011, in partnership with the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST-MEP), Old Dominion University Business Gateway, and the Manufacturing Technology Center. Working together, these partners are taking the mystery out of innovation for U.S. manufacturing.

"GENEDGE ALLIANCE is pleased to be on the forefront of delivering innovation services to Virginia industries," says Jeff Kohler, GENEDGE ALLIANCE Executive Director. "In the past year, we have incorporated these same tools into our client deliveries and have been successful at moving businesses forward into commercialization."

Businesses from Virginia and around the country will participate in this three-day leadership event featuring Doug Hall of EUREKA! RANCH INTERNATIONAL. Mr. Hall is renowned internationally as a product development and innovation expert. He will present MEPÕs innovation approach providing business leaders with a reliable process for faster commercialization in new markets. This system draws upon the research and tools of leading innovative experts including Andy Van Gundy, Edward DeBono, Alex Osborn, George Prince, and W. Edwards Deming. Attendees learn how to apply this system to any business and increase their speed to market with new ideas through a robust tool-set and intense hands-on group training.

Virginia businesses are encouraged to call (540) 722-3405 to obtain more information and speak with a GENEDGE representative about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for their businesses. To register directly or for more information, go to http://www.innovationengineering.info/virginia.

About GENEDGE ALLIANCE: GENEDGE ALLIANCE operates as the non-profit Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) for the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of a nationwide network of MEP's under the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.