In Beijing Thursday China's Ministry of Education (MOE) and its State Development Planning Commission jointly authorized 35 local universities to run pilot software institutes to meet the increased demand for software personnel in the 21st century.

Sources with the MOE say that the institutes are designed to train competitive talented professionals with practical experience. Interested colleges and universities can also apply to run such institutes subject to approval by experts.

It is expected the institutes will work cooperatively with their international counterparts, improve their teaching methods, use foreign text books and adopt bilingual teaching. The institutes will recruit junior and senior undergraduates who major in software, undergraduates applying for a double major, and graduates with a bachelor's degree or above in software.

Preparation work for enrollment has already started.

(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2002)