In order to follow out the strategy of prospering our country by science and education, and put into effect the important idea of insisting on education innovations and improving education management advanced by the 16th CPC National Congress, the MOE (MOE) has determined to launch a project of sending university leaders to go abroad for training cooperated with the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs. This project, launched on August 2003, is aimed to promote university leaders in China to study and refer to helpful experiences and practices in the development of advanced education and the management of advanced schools more effectively. As an influential training base for university leaders, the academy should assume affairs including pre-trainings for all training groups before their going abroad during the executive process of the project, and also the organization of concluding lessons after their coming back.
From November to December 2003, the academy will organize two 24-member groups sequentially to go to the U.S.A for training and studying, which should be mainly made up of senior leaders of those universities directly affiliated to the MOE, related persons from departments and bureaus of the MOE, involved people from the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, and staffs in charge of teaching and management in the academy. Topics for the two projects are respectively the research and development of university and transformation of technology, and the discipline construction of university and improvement of quality of teaching. We have established cooperation-ship with Columbia University School of Education and University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. They will design corresponding training planning including courses, lectures, investigations, interviews, and internships, etc for the students according to the training objectives and requirements, with a view to achieve the expected goal through various methods.
Meanwhile, by utilizing the special funds for overseas training from the MOE, the academy plan to organize those candidate leaders to go to the U.S.A and England for trainings and investigations focused on the management of student affairs and teaching management for advanced schools, who should be first of all trained and recommended by us, and also selected by the Department of Personnel of the MOE. Texas A&M University, which has a long-term and friendly cooperation-ship with us, should take responsibility of the trainings and investigations in the U.S.A for the group of the management of student affairs for advanced schools. On the other hand, London University School of Education should be charge of the corresponding affairs for the group in England. Now the two universities are preparing actively for the training planning according to its requirements.