A joint opening ceremony of the three Macau public universities at the Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town First Phase in Hengqin – the University of Macau (UM), the Macao Polytechnic University (MPU), and the Macao University of Tourism (UTM) – was held yesterday morning.
Delivering a speech during the opening ceremony, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Wallis O Lam said that the university town serves not only as an extension of Macau’s higher education capacity, but also as an international science and education platform rooted in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and connected to the globe.
The university town’s first phase, which started operating last month, consists of transitional teaching and research facilities in Hengqin used by these three Macau public universities before the completion of their respective new campuses in Hengqin.
The UM is currently constructing its new, second campus on Zhuhai’s Hengqin island. The future new campus will be the university’s first campus outside the jurisdiction of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR), making it the university’s second campus. Geographically, both campuses are located in Hengqin, but the, current one is under the MSAR’s direct jurisdiction on a plot of land, covering one square kilometre, leased from the Chinese mainland.
Dezhi Plaza (德智廣場) in Hengqin, a property development project consisting of about a dozen high-rise and low-rise buildings, was initially slated to operate as a “German City” commercial complex, but it has been converted into the university town’s first phase.
Since its operational start last month, the converted Dezhi (“Virtue and Wisdom”) Plaza has now been shared by UM, MPU, and UTM for the operation of their respective transitional teaching and research facilities.
The university town’s second phase is UM’s new campus in Hengqin, the partial and full operation of which is slated for 2028 and 2029, respectively, while the third phase consists of the new campuses of MPU and UTM in Hengqin, construction of which is slated to start in 2027 and be completed in 2030.
In her speech, O said that the university town, aiming for internationalisation, will introduce global teaching and research resources, vigorously promoting internationalisation in talent cultivation, scientific research, and sci-tech exchanges, so as to achieve the vision of “studying abroad right on your doorstep”.
O said that the university town will place strong emphasis on developing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), interdisciplinary studies, and cutting-edge subjects, aiming to integrate the academic chain, innovation chain, and industry chain. This will create a virtuous cycle where education lays the foundation, technology empowers progress, and talent provides support, turning the Macau-Hengqin integration into a vital engine for talent aggregation, technological innovation, and industrial upgrading in the GBA, thereby realising the goal of “R&D in Macau, Transformation in Hengqin, and Sharing across the GBA”.
O also said that from the next academic year, students from any of the three universities in the town can also choose to enrol in courses provided by other universities there.
Yesterday’s ceremony was attended by dignitaries including Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai, Central People’s Government Liaison Office Director Zheng Xincong, Deputy Director Lyu Yuyin, and Secretary for Economy and Finance Dora Ng Wai Han.
Ng heads the executive committee of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
Dignitaries mark yesterday’s joint opening ceremony of the three Macau public universities at the Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town First Phase in Hengqin, comprising (from left to right) MPU Rector Zhou Zhongrong, Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) Director Kong Chi Meng, Hengqin Executive Committee Deputy Director Nie Xinping, Liaison Office Deputy Director Lyu Yuyin, Liaison Office Director Zheng Xincong, Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai, Secretary for Economy and Finance Dora Ng Wai Han, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Wallis O Lam, Hengqin Executive Committee Deputy Director Li Chong, UM Rector Song Yonghua, and UTM Rector Fanny Vong Chuk Kwan. – Photo: DSEDJ
