The University of Macau (UM) held the joint meeting of its University Assembly (UA) and University Council (UC) for the 2025/2026 academic year yesterday, where Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai, also chancellor of the UM and chair of the UA, urged the UM to take a leading role in advancing the high-quality development of the Macau government’s Macau-Hengqin International Education (University) Town project, according to an UM statement last night.
The meeting was also attended by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Wallis O Lam, UC Chair Peter Lam Kam Seng, and UM Rector Song Yonghua.
Sam’s 4 opinions & suggestions
During the meeting, according to the statement, Sam raised four opinions and suggestions for the university.
The first is to advance the development of the Macau-Hengqin International Education (University) Town with high standards. Sam said that the UM should enhance its cross-border educational initiatives, covering campus development, curriculum planning, laboratory facilities, and industry-academia collaboration. The university should also ensure the proper use of government funding and maintain compliance with relevant regulations, with the goal of becoming a model for cross-border education under the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, Sam said.
The second, Sam said, is to formulate and implement a new five-year development plan and strengthen synergies between the university’s two campuses in academic development, talent cultivation, and research.
The third, Sam said, is to capitalise on the university’s role as a key platform for integrating education, research, and talent by enhancing its academic structure, advancing research in key areas, and attracting and nurturing high-calibre talent.
The fourth, Sam said, is to further expand the university’s global network, particularly by promoting exchanges with Portuguese-, Spanish-, and English-speaking countries, as well as neighbouring regions in Asia, thereby supporting Macau’s role in the country’s high-level opening-up.
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 Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) and it will be the university’s second campus. Geographically, both campuses are located in Hengqin, but the first, current one is under the MSAR’s direct jurisdiction on a plot of land, covering one square kilometre, leased from the Chinese mainland.
The Macau government plans to develop its Macau-Hengqin International Education (University) Town project in three phases. The first phase is transitional teaching and research facilities to be used by three Macau public universities, namely the UM, the Macao Polytechnic University (MPU), and the Macao University of Tourism (UTM), before the completion of their respective new campuses in Hengqin.
The second phase is the UM’s new campus in Hengqin, the partial and full operation of which are slated for 2028 and 2029, while the third phase is the new campuses of the MPU and the UTM in Hengqin, construction of which, according to the Macau government’s previous announcements, is slated to start in 2027 and be completed in 2030.
This handout photo released by the University of Macau (UM) last night shows the joint meeting of its University Assembly (UA) and University Council (UC) yesterday.
