BEIJING - The Ministry of Education on Tuesday launched a five-year overseas training program for 1,000 presidents of public universities based in central and western China in order to improve their management capacity.

Some 100 university presidents will be sent to the United States, Britain, Australia and Germany for a three-week training course later this month, the ministry said.

The trainees will study relations between universities and enterprises and the management of human resources within universities, said Zhao Lingshan, an official with the ministry.

The program, which will cost 80 million yuan (about 12.8 million U.S. dollars), is being jointly funded by the Hong Kong-based Lee Shau Kee Foundation and the Hong Kong Pei Hua Education Foundation.

Vice Minister of Education Hao Ping said the program will help university presidents understand the development of higher education in developed countries, as well as learn about management reforms that have taken place in global colleges and universities.

Hao said the program will boost exchanges between domestic and overseas institutions of higher learning.