Delivers Measurable, Peer-Validated Leadership Portfolios to Accelerate Diverse STEM Talent Pipelines

Background

In science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, collaborative group work is a fundamental component designed to mirror real-world professional environments. There is a critical need to actively foster teamwork and leadership skills alongside technical knowledge in these settings. Cultivating these interpersonal competencies is essential for increasing diversity and inclusivity within STEM fields. Building self-efficacy and a strong sense of belonging among students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, requires explicit attention to group dynamics. Consequently, there is a pressing need for structured environments that promote competence while reducing biases during intergroup collaboration.

Despite the importance of these competencies, current pedagogical approaches often fail to adequately address them. Traditional assignments treat leadership and teamwork as implicit byproducts of collaboration rather than explicit, measurable skills. Because these behaviors are rarely defined or tracked, students lack accountability regarding their roles, leading to unstructured and inequitable group dynamics. Furthermore, existing methods generally lack mechanisms for structured peer feedback, depriving students of the opportunity to reflect on their growth. This ambiguity disproportionately affects underrepresented students, who may struggle to recognize their leadership potential without clear guidance. Ultimately, conventional collaborative exercises inadvertently perpetuate biases and hinder the development of diverse future leaders.

Technology

The Project Leadership App is a web-based software platform designed to foster teamwork and leadership skills through a structured cycle of practice, observation, and feedback. The platform allows students in group-based settings to select specific leadership roles and target skills, which are made visible to all team members to promote accountability. Following activities, users exchange structured peer feedback. The system aggregates this data into a dynamic “leadership map” visualizing personal strengths and growth areas. Additionally, the platform features gamification elements, instructor customization for tailoring roles to specific curricula, and the ability to generate comprehensive achievement portfolios.

This technology is differentiated by its deep integration of evidence-based pedagogical frameworks, such as Self-Determination Theory, specifically aimed at increasing diversity and inclusivity in STEM. Unlike generic collaboration tools, it explicitly labels common classroom behaviors as vital leadership skills, empowering underrepresented students to recognize their potential and build self-efficacy. Furthermore, the platform is uniquely adaptable and secure; it is FERPA-compliant and designed to easily scale across institutions. By transforming abstract group dynamics into measurable, actionable data, the solution provides an equitable approach to cultivating diverse leaders.

Benefits

• Fosters essential leadership and teamwork skills while empowering students from underrepresented backgrounds to build self-efficacy and a sense of belonging in STEM.
• Facilitates structured peer feedback and provides dynamic visual tracking (leadership maps) to help students monitor their growth and generate tangible portfolios for career advancement.
• Offers high customizability, allowing instructors to easily tailor leadership roles, skills, and course content to align with specific curriculum objectives.
• Increases student engagement, motivation, and accountability through transparent role selection and gamification elements such as badges, points, and leaderboards.
• Built on a secure, scalable, and FERPA-compliant architecture that allows for easy distribution and broad adoption across various educational and professional institutions.

Applications

• Educational institution courseware licensing
• Corporate leadership training programs
• Employee peer feedback management
• Social leadership networking platform
• Professional workplace team building

Additional info

Copyright 2026 The Trustees of Princeton University. All rights reserved.

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to non-profit academic and research institutions (“Academic Users”) to use this software for internal, non-commercial academic and research purposes only, subject to the following conditions:

This license applies solely to internal use for academic research or educational purposes. Any other use, including but not limited to the following, requires a separate commercial license:

• use by or on behalf of a for-profit organization,

• incorporation into a commercial product or service,

• or use in connection with commercial research or fee-for-service activities

To inquire about a commercial license, please contact: Cortney Cavanaugh at ccavanaugh@princeton.edu or otl@princeton.edu

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, is not permitted.

NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED LICENSES TO ANY PARTY’S PATENT RIGHTS ARE GRANTED BY THIS LICENSE. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY AND CONTRIBUTORS “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.