1981 The University of East Asia(UEA), the predecessor of UM, was founded
1984 The first cohort of undergraduate students graduated and honorary doctorates were awarded for the first time
1988 The local government acquired and restructured UEA and revised the charter
1989 Then President of the Portuguese Republic Mario Soares visited UEA
1990 Undergraduate programmes changed from a three-year system to a four-year system
1991 UEA was renamed ‘University of Macau’, and the new charter was promulgated
1992 The first cohort of master’s students graduated
1997 Then President of the Portuguese Republic Jorge Sampaio visited UM
1997 The first doctoral student graduated
2001 The Macao SAR government restructured the University Council
2003 Then Vice President Zeng Qinghong visited UM
2006 The Legislative Assembly passed the new Judicial Regime of the University of Macau, and the chief executive promulgated the new Charter of the University of Macau. According to the charter, the University Council is the highest collegial organ of the university
2007 UM formulated the Ten-Year Development Strategy
2008 UM globally recruited top management for the first time
2009 The National People’s Congress Standing Committee adopted a bill which approved the construction of UM’s new campus on Hengqin Island
2009 Then President Hu Jintao officiated at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new campus
2009 The University of Macau Development Foundation was established
2010 Then Premier Wen Jiabao visited UM
2010 The Ministry of Science and Technology approved the establishment of two state key laboratories at UM: the State Key Laboratory of Analog and Mixed-Signal VLSI, and the State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine
2013 The new campus was handed over to the Macao SAR government and came under the jurisdiction of Macao SAR on 20 July
2013 Then Vice Premier of the State Council Wang Yang officiated at the inauguration ceremony for the new campus
2014 UM completed relocation to the new campus. UM began to conduct all classes on the new campus in the 2014/2015 academic year
2014 President Xi Jinping visited UM
2016 UM received the Medal of Merit-Education from the Macao SAR government, becoming the first tertiary institution in Macao to receive this honour
2018 UM received a gift from the Ministry of Education, ‘The Wall of Great Wisdom’ statue, which conveys the ministry’s hope that UM will promote traditional Chinese culture and traditional Chinese virtues.
2018 UM received approval from the Ministry of Science and Technology to establish the State Key Laboratory of Internet of Things for Smart City
2019 The Faculty of Business Administration became the first business school in Macao to receive accreditation from both the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Association of MBAs (AMBA). It also became a full member of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). It launched the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programme
2019 The Cultural Building was inaugurated. The building houses the Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, the Centre for Chinese History and Culture, the Centre for Macau Studies, the Confucius Institute, the Chinese-Portuguese Bilingual Teaching and Training Centre, the Centre for Arts and Design, and the Macao Base for Primary & Secondary Education in Humanities & Social Sciences
2019 The Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, the Centre for Artificial Intelligence, the Centre for Data Science, and the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship were established under the Institute of Collaborative Innovation
2019 UM’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship obtained approval to serve as a national co-working space
2020 UM received approval from the Ministry of Education (MoE) to establish a Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology (MoE-FSCPO). As the first national centre of its kind in Hong Kong and Macao, the MoE-FSCPO is committed to leading research and development in life sciences and medicine, especially cancer.
2020 UM’s Public Administration Training Centre was inaugurated to cultivate innovative and practical talents and provide support to Macao SAR government in strengthening the construction of talent echelon UM
2021 UM began participating in the development of the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, which aims to contribute to economic diversification of Macao
2021 UM’s Macau Institute for Translational Medicine and Innovation was inaugurated to promote innovation in medical science and technology, assist the university in commercialising its research results in the field of biomedicine, and enhance disease prevention and treatment in the Greater Bay Area
2021 UM released its 5-Year Development Plan (Academic Year 2021/2022 to 2025/2026)
2022 UM Macao Base for Primary & Secondary STEM Education was included in the first batch of 2021-2025 national science education bases