Yonghua Song (right) and Wendy Lawson
To further expand the international cooperation network of the University of Macau (UM) and strengthen its level of internationalisation, Yonghua Song, rector of UM, led a delegation to visit top universities in New Zealand after visiting leading universities in Australia. The aim of the visit was to promote teaching and research exchanges and cooperation with higher education institutions in the Asia-Pacific region, and to explore joint efforts to cultivate innovative talent with global competitiveness.
Song said that the visit to the top universities in Oceania has resulted in the establishment of a number of cooperation projects, further expanding and deepening the network of exchange and cooperation between UM and higher education institutions in the English-speaking regions. During the visit, UM reached several important consensus with leading universities in Australia and New Zealand on talent cultivation, research collaboration and student exchange programmes, and set out the direction and plans for future cooperation. These collaborative projects will make a significant contribution to enhancing UM’s academic standards and international influence, as well as to the coordinated development of higher education in the Asia-Pacific region.
The UM delegation visited two renowned universities in Auckland. At Auckland University of Technology, the UM delegation was warmly received by Wendy Lawson, the university’s deputy vice-chancellor, as well as representatives of the business and engineering departments. During the visit, the two parties signed a memorandum of understanding and will carry out collaborative projects in teaching and research, faculty and student exchange programmes, co-hosting of academic conferences, and sharing of academic resources. In addition, the two universities agreed to establish an undergraduate student exchange programme. They also hope to further deepen the cooperation in business administration and engineering disciplines, and establish joint training cultivation programmes in signature disciplines such as international integrated resorts and tourism management.
At the University of Auckland, the UM delegation held in-depth discussions with Valerie Linton, the university’s provost, and representatives from the Business School, the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Arts, and the International Office, on the establishment of faculty and student exchange mechanism, collaborative research and talent cultivation in the fields of engineering, business administration and global studies. They also agreed on sending doctoral students to each other for exchanges and research collaboration.
In addition, the UM delegation met with Chen Shijie, consul general of the People’s Republic of China in Auckland, and Yu Liqun, consul for education affairs. Song gave them an overview of the development of UM, its international strategic layout, as well as its cooperation with higher education institutions in New Zealand and future outlook. Chen spoke highly of UM’s internationalisation, and expressed the consulate-general’s strong support for fostering collaboration and exchanges between UM and institutions in New Zealand. The two parties also had in-depth exchanges and discussions on ways to strengthen cooperation between higher education institutions in the Macao SAR and New Zealand.
Members of the UM delegation also included Yu Jun, dean of the Faculty of Business Administration; Xu Cheng-Zhong, dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology; Pang Chap Chong, dean of students; and Wang Ruibing, director of the Global Affairs Office.
