Sands China and the Macao Polytechnic University (MPU) signed on Friday at The Londoner Macao a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that aims to strengthen research on smart tourism, technological innovation and talent development “by deepening exchanges between the academic and business sectors”, according to a joint statement released on the same day.
A Smart Tourism Symposium was also co-hosted by both on the same day.
The statement noted that the through the MOU, Sands senior management staff will be guest lecturers or speakers at the university, aiming to promote “the development of smart tourism in Macau in line with international standards”.
Sands China President Wilfred Wong Ying-wai was quoted in the statement as saying: “With today’s [Friday] symposium and other initiatives, we aim to foster the exchange of ideas and promote cooperation between the tourism industry and academia, thereby facilitating the transformation of technological advancements and elevating industry service standards.”
MPU Rector Prof. Im Sio Kei added: “We hope this collaboration of education and enterprise allows us to leverage our respective advantages in teaching, research and practice in the areas of technology and tourism and leisure industries, contributing to Macau’s profile as a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure and to Macau’s high-tech development.”
Meanwhile, according to the statement, during the symposium, an initiative of the Sands Hospitality Academy, the topics of Macau’s development as a smart tourism city and how to nurture technology professionals were discussed, with sessions revolving around themes such as the evetving landscape of smart tourism.
The event also saw a demonstration of a new school-enterprise cooperation project called the Sands Learning Buddy (Sandy), which was developed by a team from MPU ‘s Faculty of Applied Sciences.
According to the statement, the project applies artificial intelligence (AI) to Macau’s leisure industry, while its tourism training software features “a real-time dialogue generation system that is based on Language Large Models (LLMs)”, according to the statement. It can be used to assist travellers in itinerary planning and dining, among others, in the future, the statement said. The staff received training in tourism information by interacting with the system through asking questions.
Friday’s event was attended by around 300 participants in person and online via webcast, the statement noted.
This handout photo taken and provided by Sands China and The Macao Polytechnic University (MPU) on Friday shows MPU Rector Prof. Im Sio Kei (left) posing with Sands China President Wilfred Wong Ying-wai after signing their memorandum of understanding (MOU).
