Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng visits UM

Huai Jinpeng, minister of education, along with other guests, visited the University of Macau (UM) today (15 August) and were warmly received by the UM management, including University Council Chair Lam Kam Seng Peter and Rector Yonghua Song. Huai also listened to work reports from the university and gave full recognition of its achievements in the aspects of academic layout and the commercialisation of the outcomes of industry-academia collaboration.

During the visit, Huai was accompanied by O Lam, secretary for social affairs and culture of the Macao SAR government; and Chen Wei, director of Bureau IV of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee. He inspected the Macao Centre for Testing of Chinese Medicine, UM and the State Key Laboratory of Mechanism and Quality of Chinese Medicine. During the meeting, Huai listened to work reports from Song and Chen Xin, director of the UM Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences. He learned about UM’s progress in expanding its educational offerings and academic layout, its plans for conducting teaching activities in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, as well as its efforts to promote industry-academia collaboration, and spoke highly of the university’s achievements.

Huai expressed hope that UM will continue to play an active role in promoting integrated development with higher education in the Chinese mainland, developing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into an international education demonstration zone and an international centre for innovation and technology, and serving the country’s needs by leveraging its strengths. He also said that the Ministry of Education will continue to support UM in serving national strategies and Macao’s development, and fulfilling its mission of fostering virtue through education.

Lam thanked the Ministry of Education for its long-standing support. He emphasised that the university will continue to leverage its strengths, support Macao’s development as an exchange platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, and nurture outstanding and globally competitive talent who love the country and Macao, thereby building a strong talent pool for the city’s long-term prosperity and stability. Song said that UM is committed to nurturing outstanding talent, conducting cutting-edge research, promoting international exchange and cooperation, exploring new education models in the Cooperation Zone, and facilitating high-level industry-academia collaboration, thereby supporting the country in building a strong educational system, greater scientific and technological strength, and a quality workforce.