On 3 February 2012, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of Macao SAR Mr. Cheong U visited the University of Macau (UM), to stay abreast of UM's latest developments. Mr. Cheong also attended UM's Chinese New Year Gathering for Staff 2012 later in the evening. In his speech at the gathering, Mr. Cheong noted that in recent years UM has achieved pleasing results in numerous areas, and with the SAR government's support UM has established a relatively sound teaching, research and governance system, and has produced a large number of outstanding graduates for society. He encouraged all UM members to make a united effort to help UM scale new heights in the future. Mr. Cheong and his colleagues, including advisors Ms. Iao Man Leng, Mr. Wai Cheng Iong, and Mr. Ung Chi Keong, were warmly received by UM's University Council Chair Dr. Tse Chi Wai, UM Rector Wei Zhao, and Vice Rectors Prof. Simon Ho, Prof. Rui Martins and Dr. Alex Lai. During the meeting, Mr. Cheong highly recognized UM's impressive achievements in recent years, which he attributed to government support and the joint efforts of all UM members. He made special mention of the new "4-in-1" pedagogical model, the trial implementation of the residential colleges, the approval of the two state key laboratories, and the founding of Macao's first Honours College, saying that these strategies are not only pioneering endeavours in Macao, but also have taken UM one more step closer towards realizing whole-person education. He remarked that developing UM into a world-class institution is no mean feat that would probably take ten years, twenty years or even longer. He also expressed admiration for the solidarity among all UM members in their preparation for future relocation to the new campus, which is expected to be completed within a short time frame of three years . He encouraged all UM members to continue to work hard and make a united effort to help UM scale new heights in the future. Mr. Cheong paid special visits to the State Key Laboratory of Analog and Mixed-Signal VLSI, the State Key Laboratory for Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, the East Asia College and the University Library, during which he was updated on UM's latest developments in cutting-edge research and the effectiveness of the implementation of whole-person education. Later in the evening, he attended UM's Chinese New Year Gathering for Staff 2012 and proposed a toast to over six hundred people. In his speech at the gathering, Mr. Cheong said that the Macao SAR government has always provided full policy- and resource-wise support for higher education development in Macao, and at the moment the UM Charter Revision Task Force is revising UM's Charter, in order to better support the university's future development upon relocation to the new campus and create more favorable conditions for the university to realize the goal of becoming a world-class institution. UM staff and students were very encouraged by Mr. Cheong's visit and his pledge of support. In his speech Rector Wei Zhao thanked the Macao SAR government and the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture on behalf of all UM members for their longstanding support and guidance.
