Melco Resorts & Entertainment donated one million patacas to the public Macao University of Tourism (UTM) Development Foundation on Tuesday to support the university’s academic development, improve teaching and research quality, and expand international cooperation, according to a statement by UTM yesterday.
The donation agreement was signed at the Forward Building on its Taipa campus by Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, Melco’s chairman and chief executive, and Cheung Kin Chung, chair of the executive committee of the foundation, the statement said.
The ceremony was also attended by Cen Jiayi, director of the Department of Education and Youth Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR; Wong Chio In, head of the Department of Educational Research and Planning of the Education and Youth Development Bureau; UTM Rector Fanny Vong Chuk Kwan; and Akiko Takahashi, Melco’s executive vice president and chief of staff to its chairman and chief executive, the statement underlined.
Cheung thanked Melco for the donation, saying that the tourism sector’s transition towards high-quality and sustainable development had increased demand for interdisciplinary professionals with academic knowledge, industry experience and innovative thinking, the statement noted.
Cheung noted that the donation would strengthen cooperation between the university and the integrated resort operator, facilitate the use of industry resources in teaching, and help apply academic research to industry practices, the statement said, adding that these efforts would support the development of cultural and tourism professionals suited to Macau’s needs.
Ho said that talent was a key driver of the city’s tourism industry and reaffirmed Melco’s commitment to supporting the local government’s “1+4” strategy for economic diversification, the statement noted. He also expressed the company’s intention to continue working with UTM on talent development and contribute to Macau’s economic diversification, the statement said.
The donation marked the third in a series of ceremonies involving integrated tourism and leisure enterprises in support of UTM’s development, the statement noted, adding that it would organise further donation events with other operators to mobilise broader community support, strengthen its talent base and contribute to high-quality cultural tourism development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
This handout photo provided by the Macao University of Tourism (UTM) yesterday shows Lawrence Ho Yau Lung (left), Melco’s chairman and chief executive, and Cheung Kin Chung, chair of the executive committee of the UTM Development Foundation, posing with a symbolic cheque of the 1.0 million pataca donation on UTM’s Taipa campus on Tuesday.
