UC Berkeley has launched its Engineering Leadership Program for Professionals, a six month program for engineers from companies like Applied Materials, Cisco, Facebook, Lam Research, NetApp, National Semiconductor and Yahoo. The first program just began, but it's worth checking into in case you want to get involved in future sessions. You don't have to schlep to Berkeley. It's held in Silicon Valley. The roughly 50 participants were sponsored by their companies. Candidates included senior managers, directors, and those in other "key" tech roles. The program's designed to teach engineers how to manage technical teams, influence top-level strategy, and amplify the inherent value of R&D. Subjects covered include opportunity recognition, technical firm strategy, product management, customer development, operations, leadership skills, and finance. If you want to find out more, check out the program's website here. -- Mark Feffer