Teaching Leaders develops school middle managers such as heads of departments, and Future Leaders aims to develop potential leaders - not necessarily from within education - to work in difficult schools.

BBC: Tories back 'Teach First' scheme

Harry L. Davis, Professor of Creative Management at the University of Chicago's highly-rated Graduate School of Business, teaches his innovative course, "Leadership as Performance Art, " to senior managers at the school's US campus.

CNN: Meet the manager-as-performer

Applicants look at starting salaries or the percentage landing jobs before graduation, numbers that tell more about the school's reputation and the economy than the performance of alumni as managers.

ECONOMIST: The MBA, changing and static

Similarly, last month Columbia Business School hosted 25 senior managers from China for the school's inaugural China CEO program, including CEOs from companies such as the Nasdaq-listed Focus Media, as well as some state-owned conglomerates.

CNN: Educating Asia's business leaders