Rector Wei Zhao wishes students luck on the first day of school
Today (24 August) is the first day of the new academic year at the University of Macau (UM). Everything is running smoothly on the campus. The first day of the new semester saw the influx of more than 500 faculty members and over 9,000 students, including 2,000 new undergraduate and postgraduate students. A student says he is very excited about starting his first day of classes at UM and he looks forward to a new way of learning. UM Rector Wei Zhao expressed thanks to all the colleagues for working hard during the summer holiday to prepare for the new academic year. He hopes UM teachers and students will work harder in the new semester to help UM make new academic progress. In the summer holiday, UM installed new facilities and made improvements to existing facilities, including teaching buildings, sports facilities, and residential buildings, in order to provide the best possible learning and living environment for students and faculty. The frequency of the campus shuttles has also been increased to meet the surging demand. Many students started to queue up for buses to the campus at the Praça de Ferreira do Amaral bus stop around 8:00am this morning. Rector Zhao and Dean of Students Peter Yu visited the bus stop and wished students luck on the first day of school. The Transport Bureau increased bus service frequency during rush hours to provide maximum convenience for UM students. UM also arranged for some shuttle buses to take students to the campus. Rector Zhao and college masters visited some classrooms and dining facilities in the residential colleges to check how students were doing on the first day of school. Rector Zhao also visited several student-run shops to show support. A fourth-year student from the Faculty of Business Administration (FBA), who is also the manager of one of the student-run shops, says: ‘The shop has been running smoothly so far. I would like to thank the university for giving us an opportunity to start our own business. We will do our best to serve the university community.’ Rector Zhao also visited recruitment booths of the Students’ Union and its sub-organisations in the Student Activity Centre to show support. ‘Public transport was very good this morning,’ says a freshman from the Faculty of Law. ‘I was surprised to see the rector greeting students at the bus stop.’ Another freshman from the FBA says: ‘The rector is very friendly and the arrangement for the first day is good. Earlier the university organised sit-in sessions to help students adapt to a new mode of learning.’ A second-year student from the Faculty of Science and Technology says: ‘I look forward to meeting new friends and professors and starting a new way of learning.’
