The opening ceremony of the UM Open Day
The University of Macau (UM) held its open day event today (14 January). Titled ‘UM Open Day 2024: Connecting Macao and Hengqin’, this year’s Open Day was held in both Macao and Hengqin for the first time, showcasing the latest achievements of the university and the Zhuhai UM Science & Technology Research Institute (ZUMRI) in teaching and research, talent cultivation, and industry-academia collaboration. The event attracted many students, parents, members of the public and visitors, who came to learn about the admission information, education model, and campus culture of the university. Yonghua Song, rector of UM, said that the Open Day is a manifestation of UM’s vision and development direction, and the university plans to establish a new campus in Hengqin.
The Open Day was held from 11:00am to 5:00pm. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Song said that the Open Day this year enabled visitors to visit both the UM campus and ZUMRI, which is a manifestation of the university’s vision and development direction: being firmly rooted in Macao, jointly developing the Greater Bay Area, integrating with the nation, and going global. In line with the Macao SAR Government’s ‘1+4’ strategy for economic diversification and the development needs of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin and the country, UM will offer several new degree programmes in the next academic year, including Master of Fine Arts, Master of Science in Business Analytics, Doctor of Fine Arts, and Doctor of Public Health. In addition, the university plans to establish a new campus in Hengqin to offer programmes in medicine, new engineering, microelectronics, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, robotics, and quantitative business analytics. It has also received approval for the establishment of the UM Advanced Research Institute in Hengqin, which will further promote industry-academia collaboration. UM will continue to align with the Macao SAR Government’s strategies and the needs of the country, thus contributing to the resolution of the common problems facing mankind.
The theme of this year’s UM Open Day is ‘Connecting Macao and Hengqin’. Various faculties, residential colleges, the library and the sports complex on the UM campus, as well as ZUMRI in Hengqin were open to the public. Through on-site consultations, academic talks and exhibitions, visitors were able to learn about the degree programmes, residential college system, and latest achievements of UM. The university also aimed to provide prospective students an insight into their preferred programmes and the living environment at UM through the Open Day, thus helping them plan for their further studies.
A student from the Premier School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School said that the rich academic atmosphere and well-equipped teaching facilities at UM make her look forward to university life and becoming a member of UM. A parent from Hengqin came to visit UM to learn more about the degree programmes and educational philosophy of the university. She said that UM is an international university with many renowned scholars from all over the world. She hopes that her children will study at UM and become a talented person with a global mindset and international competitiveness.
In addition, the Open Day event offered a wide range of activities such as sports activities, car racing metaverse, workshops, science experiments, performances, booth games, and ‘A Day at UM’ campus tours. Through these activities, participants experienced campus life first-hand and gained a deeper understanding of UM’s latest developments. The event was also livestreamed so that those unable to join in person could participate remotely.
