The public University of Macau (UM) has rolled out a five-year development plan, expecting the total number of students to reach 22,000 in the 2030/31 academic year.
UM Rector Song Yonghua (aka Yonghua Song) presented the five-year development plan during a press conference on the university’s main campus on Friday.
The plan covers the period from academic years 2026/27 to 2030/31.
UM is currently constructing its new, second campus on Zhuhai’s Hengqin island. The 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 first, current one (main campus) is under the MSAR’s direct jurisdiction on a plot of land covering one square kilometre, leased from the Chinese mainland.
During the ongoing transitional period before the completion of its second campus, UM is currently operating transitional teaching and research facilities in the first phase of the Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town in Hengqin. The university town’s first phase, which started operating in August this year, is shared by three Macau public universities - UM, the Macao Polytechnic University (MPU), and the Macao University of Tourism (UTM).
The university town’s first phase was set up in a complex consisting of about a dozen high-rise and low-rise buildings, which were initially slated to operate as commercial facilities.
During Friday’s press conference, Song said that UM is aiming - within five years - to become a university featuring cross-disciplinary integration, balanced comprehensive discipline systems, and significantly enhanced research and educational capacity under an integrated cross-border “One University, Two Campuses” model.
Song said that UM is aiming to achieve three major development goals: promoting coordinated and joint advancement of two campuses as an integrated whole, positioning itself as an international comprehensive research university, and becoming a first-class university in China with world excellence.
Song said that the university will adopt an overall development strategy characterised by five core pillars: resource-integrated, excellence-focused, ambition-led, collaboration-centric, and high-impact – collectively known as “R.E.A.C.H.”
Song said that UM will place strong emphasis on five key areas: building a balanced and integrated talent development system, developing an original innovation-orientated approach for research, jointly building the Macao-Hengqin industry-academia-research innovation ecosystem, strengthening strategic and substantive external exchange and collaboration, and promoting effective transfer of academic and research strengths into public service.
According to Song, UM expects the total number of its students to reach 20,000 in 2028, 22,000 in 2030, and 25,000 in 2035.
In academic year 2030/31, the total number of students is expected to reach 22,000, comprising 18,000 on the current main campus and 4,000 on the future Hengqin campus. Among them, 2,000 students are expected to attend their classes and conduct research activities across both campuses.
Song noted that there are currently 17,000 students on the main campus, of which 70 to 80 percent are undergraduate students. Among the undergraduate students, 60 to 70 percent are Macau students. Among the postgraduate students, 70 percent are non-local students.
Song also said that UM aims to achieve the student mix of a comprehensive research university in academic year 2030/31, with postgraduate students accounting for over 50 percent of the total student population.
Song also underlined that UM’s new campus in Hengqin is expected to commence partial operation in 2028 and full operation in 2029.
University of Macau (UM) Rector Song Yonghua addresses Friday’s press conference on the university’s main campus. – Photo: Tony Wong
