The Czech health care system has been completely redesigned within the last 7-year period. There are many issues involved, which should be solved in the following months and years. One of the most serious is the lack of professional managers with a good knowledge of managerial science, practical skills and a thorough understanding of economics, particularly middle level managers. To help fill this gap, two partnerships between US and Czech universities have been established. Attention has been focused mainly on curriculum development and finalisation, information resources, and faculty development. In spite of the very short time period (less than 2 years) the partners achieved their goals and the curricula have been put into practice. The real test of the whole project and its consequences will be the first graduates who started their training in spring 1996 and autumn 1997.
A very important consequence is also the sustainability of the project, which is ensured by a new project funded by the Internal Grant Agency of the Czech Ministry of Health and supported by the Ministry of Education. The original idea of the new project is to extend the former two-sided co-operation and to create a network of educational institutions in health care management in the Czech Republic.

Keywords: Health management education; Networking; University partnership