University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and the Hitachi Institute of Management 
Development (HIMD), a corporate university and subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd.  (NYSE: HIT, 
TSE: 6501), today announced that they have established a partnership to offer UMUC 
online courses to qualified Hitachi employees worldwide.  UMUC is considered by many 
analysts to be the world's leading online course deliverer.  This is the first major 
agreement for UMUC with a multinational Japanese corporation.

HIMD will use UMUC courses as part of its employee development and benefits program.  
As a first step, HIMD has initiated a detailed training plan for pre-management and 
management level employees in Japan to take UMUC online MBA and other graduate-level 
courses, beginning in January 2001.  

"The UMUC online learning program, enabling employees to study regardless of time and 
place, will help Hitachi to speed up developing human resources that can meet the 
increasing demand for high competitiveness and advanced English capabilities required 
in today's global marketplace," said Yasuo Sekijima, board director and general manager 
of HIMD.  Sekijima added, "UMUC's excellence in providing very in-depth online coursework 
as well as the wide variety and quantity of UMUC course options were also important in our 
decision to partner with UMUC."  The university offers 28 degrees, including the MBA, and 
more than 40 ertificate programs for credit,  completely online. 

"I am pleased that Hitachi has decided to work with University of Maryland University 
College to tap the power of the Web to offer education and training to its worldwide 
employees," said UMUC Provost Nicholas Allen. "We look forward to a long and productive 
relationship between these two world-class organizations."  Director of Program Development 
in Asia for UMUC Lynne McNamara, who was largely responsible for establishing the 
relationship, added, "Hitachi lives up to its corporate statement of 'Inspire the Next' 
by using online learning--the latest in educational developments."

With approximately 40,000 online enrollments last year, UMUC is highly regarded for its 
expertise in online course delivery that satisfies corporate training needs, such as: 
required weekly participation; concentrated study; Web-based research for the most current 
information on a subject; regular interaction with the professor and global classmates 
in a small online classroom setting; and evaluation of knowledge acquisition.

The university also conducts research on online instruction and is recognized for 
interactive online Web-based training that emulates the best of the traditional classroom 
environment, while transcending its limitations. The university is well known for its 
asynchronous style of study, enabling students in a multitude of time zones to interact 
with their professor and fellow students when convenient. Often other programs require 
that students and their professors log in at the same time.

About UMUC
UMUC is based in Adelphi, Maryland, and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, 
certificates, and professional development opportunities, including industry certification. 
On-site training and a combination of on-site and online training are also available. 
The university has approximately 70,000 students in 29 countries and won two University 
Continuing Education Association (UCEA)/Peterson's awards for innovative distance education. 
For more information on University of Maryland University College, 
please visit UMUC's Web site at URL:http://www.umuc.edu

About HIMD and Hitachi, Ltd.
HIMD is based near Tokyo, Japan and its mission is to provide Hitachi and its subsidiaries 
with world-class training programs as a corporate university for management-level employees.

Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT, TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's 
leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1999 (ended March 31, 2000) consolidated 
sales of 8,001 billion yen ($75.5 billion*). The company manufactures and markets a wide 
range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and 
industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., please visit 
Hitachi's Web site at uRL:http://global.hitachi.com. 
*At an exchange rate of 106 yen to the dollar 

Note to Editor: Please include the complete name University of Maryland 
University College (or the acronym UMUC). Abbreviating the name might create 
confusion with other University System of Maryland institutions.