The Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) welcomed 494 new undergraduate and postgraduate students from places such as Macau, the mainland and elsewhere during its virtual student orientation for the 2022/2023 academic year, the tertiary education institution said on Friday.
In her speech, the statement noted that IFTM President Fanny Vong Chuk Kwan welcomed the students to the IFTM community and urged the new students to “develop a greater sense of responsibility and mission” now that they are part of the IFTM family.
Vong also encouraged students to study hard and constantly explore new things by making full use of the educational resources available, while also actively taking part in on-campus activities and training programmes, according to the statement.
IFTM also invited University of Macau’s (UM) Faculty of Law Centre for Constitutional Law and Basic Law Studies Director Lok Wai Kin, who gave a talk on “The Correlation between the National Constitution Law, the Basic Law and the National Security Law”. The statement said that this was done to enhance education on the spirit of “loving the motherland and Macau”, and provide new students with a better understanding of the nation.
The statement added that Fong Fong Tan, acting deputy director of the Livelihood Affairs of the Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, shared her thoughts on the Development Opportunities for Macau Youth in the Cooperation Zone.
Meanwhile, the statement pointed out that the upcoming academic year integrates new elements related to information technology, artificial intelligence (AI), innovation, and entrepreneurship into the new curricula. Master’s and postgraduate diploma programmes in Smart Technologies in Hospitality and Tourism have also been launched.
The statement also underlined that IFTM won the PATA Gold Award for the third time and had its International Quality Review (IQR) renewed by the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, being the first higher education institution from Macau to gain reaccreditation worldwide.
IFTM also ranked 23rd in the world in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022 for Hospitality and Leisure Management, ranking 3rd in Asia and 1st in Macau for six consecutive years, the statement pointed out.
This handout photo taken and provided by IFTM on Friday shows a video grab of attendees, including IFTM President Fanny Vong Chuk Kwan (3rd row, 3rd column), during the institute’s virtual student orientation earlier that day.
