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| UM holds its congregation 2012 |
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| Dr. Chui Sai On: the SAR government will continue to support UM in achieving its objectives |
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| Wei Zhao: UM should strive to win at the new starting line |
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Today (18 June) the University of Macau (UM) held its Congregation 2012, which was attended by nearly a thousand graduates. Dr. Chui Sai On, chief executive of Macao SAR and chancellor of UM, said at the congregation that the Macao SAR government will continue to increase input in higher education and provide support to UM, so it can develop teaching and research systems up to international standards according to its unique strengths and nurture more outstanding graduates for the local community. UM Rector Wei Zhao said that UM members will use the advantage given by the new campus to significantly improve the university and win at the new starting line.
The congregation took place at the Macau Forum. Chui Sai On officiated at the congregation in the company of Dr. Tse Chi Wai, chair of UM’s University Council; Prof. Wei Zhao, rector of UM; and Prof. Simon Ho, Prof. Rui Martins and Dr. Alex Lai, vice rectors of UM. More than two thousand people, including members of UM’s University Assembly and University Council, government officials, donors, scholarship sponsors, representatives from the education sector, community leaders, parents and UM staff, attended the congregation to witness the special moment and offer their best wishes to the students.
In his speech, Dr. Chui stressed that the SAR government will earnestly implement the policy of “making Macao stronger and more prosperous through education” and will follow the “people-centred” principle in its public administration. He said the SAR government will constantly improve the act on higher education system in order to increase the overall competitiveness of higher education institutions and support the sustainable socio-economic development of Macao. Chui added that the government will do its best to ensure the construction of the new campus is completed on schedule and with good quality so as to elevate UM to a new height in both “hardware” and “software” respects. He pledged continued government support for UM in its development of a quality faculty team and in its implementation of the new “4-in-1” pedagogical model.
He reiterated that the SAR government will implement and improve relevant policies to create more favourable conditions for local residents to receive higher education and pursue lifelong learning, thereby increasing the quality of the workforce. He noted that as a comprehensive university, UM should make an effort to contribute to the realization of this goal. In closing, he said that the SAR government will continue to ensure autonomy in higher education, enhance modern management of higher education, and study experience of other countries and regions, in order to establish an evaluation mechanism up to international standards and suited to the unique situation of each university, to help higher education in Macao scale new heights.
In his speech, UM Rector Wei Zhao noted that UM has entered a stage where it is experiencing a quantum leap in all areas. Wei Zhao pointed out that numbers of undergraduates and postgraduates increased 20 percent and 84.3 percent respectively from 2006, and published papers by UM academics and citation frequency of papers published in top journals increased 100 percent over the past three years. He mentioned that UM has obtained approval from the Ministry of Science and Technology for the establishment of two state key laboratories, the first of their kind in Macao. He said that UM has stepped up efforts to develop new signature disciplines, while at the same time strengthening the existing characteristic disciplines of each faculty, resulting in some disciplines such as Chinese medicine, microelectronics, and Internet of Things, ranking among the top in Asia. He added that with the completion of the new campus at the end of this year, UM will have a much better environment for teaching and research. In closing, Rector Wei Zhao promised on behalf of all UM members to use the advantage given by the new campus to significantly improve the university so it can win at the new starting line.
Student representative Law Chun Ieng from the Faculty of Business Administration, who is among the first graduates of the Honours College (HC), expressed thanks on behalf of all graduates to the teachers for steering the students into the port of knowledge like pilot birds and for teaching them the art of critical thinking like, as well as to all the other staff for arranging various activities and trainings and providing convenient facilities to create a harmonious learning environment for the students.
UM graduated more than 1,100 students this year, from the Faculty of Business Administration, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Science and Technology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, and the Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences. The first group of HC graduates also received certificates at the congregation. During the congregation all graduates sang the UM Anthem, which was performed for the first time by UM Choir, UM Symphonic Band and UM String Orchestra.
