The Faculty of Medicine at the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) on Thursday welcomed eight medical students from the private Timorese Catholic University (UCT), according to a MUST statement.
These students will participate in an intensive training programme focused on imaging anatomy, surgical skills, auscultation, and ultrasound training, the private university said in the statement released on Thursday.
The delegation was led by João Câncio de Freitas, UCT’s vice-rector and former minister for education of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, together with staff from the GX Foundation*, based in Timor-Leste.
The statement said that the programme is designed to facilitate skills development and includes lectures delivered by a range of experts and professors.
“This initiative underscores our commitment to fostering educational exchanges between Macau and Portuguese-speaking countries. It also highlights our ongoing efforts to promote collaboration and enhance medical education in the region”, the statement said.
The statement noted that a similar programme has successfully taken place over the past few years with institutions in Portugal.
“This marks the second iteration of our programme for students from East Timor, emphasising our dedication to international academic partnerships and the advancement of medical training”, the statement concluded.
UCT, based in the half-island nation’s capital Dili, was founded in 2021. MUST was established in 2000. Dr Billy Chan heads MUST's Centre for Education in Medical Education.
Timor-Leste is the official Portuguese name of East Timor, which restored its independence in May 2002, after more than four centuries of foreign rule.
*GX Foundation is a non-governmental charitable organisation established in Hong Kong in 2018. According to its official website, it aims to provide medical and public health humanitarian assistance to Belt and Road (B&R) countries, embodying the spirit of “sharing” and “people-to-people connectivity”. It is chaired by former Hong Kong SAR chief executive Leung Chun-ying, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). - MPD
Caption: MUST and UCT representatives, including Billy Chan (front, second from right), director of MUST's Centre for Education in Medical Education, and João Câncio de Freitas (front, centre), UCT’s vice-rector, as well as UCT students pose during a meeting on the MUST campus in Taipa on Thursday. - Photo courtesy of MUST
