The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) will expand its academic and research collaborations with two tertiary institutes in the Mainland, according to a press release Xinhua received on Monday.

In a visit to Beijing concluded on April 3, HKIEd has reached separate agreements on student exchange with Beijing Normal University (BNU) and Capital Normal University (CNU).

A new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on educational leadership has also been sealed between the Asia Pacific Center for Leadership and Change at HKIEd and BNU's Faculty of Education, which outlined the future cooperation in research, professional development and academic programs.

According to HKIEd, their collaboration with BNU will initially focus on development of a joint research project on rural school leadership in Mainland.

HKIEd currently has collaboration agreements with some 30 institutions in the Mainland and 60 universities overseas.