A delegation of eight higher education institutions from the MSAR returned to the city this Monday from a week-long trip in Portugal where they visited counterpart institutions by invitation of the Tertiary Education Services Office (GAES), according to information provided by GAES to Business Daily.
The trip was organised with the purpose ‘of gaining a deeper understanding of tertiary education development in Portugal, as well as strengthening exchange and co-operation among higher education institutions of Macau and Portugal,’ the office noted in replies to enquiries.
According to GAES, from September 18 to 23 the delegation accompanied by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam Chong Weng, held meetings in the Portuguese cities of Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra and Leiria.
In addition to a meeting held with the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, the delegation visited some of Portugal’s most reputable higher education institutions and departments, including the Catholic University of Portugal, the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, the Joanina Library of the University of Coimbra, and the Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto, to name but a few.
According to information provided by a spokesperson from the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT), represented in the delegation by its President, Fanny Vong, the itinerary was fully organised by GAES.
Among the institutions comprising the delegation – and having a established Chinese-Portuguese language programme with the Polytechnic of Leiria – the Macao Polytechnic Institute (IPM) took part in two main activities during the trip.
One of was the signing of a protocol agreement between IPM President Lei Heong Iok and the President of the Portuguese School Foundation of Macau (FEPM), Roberto Carneiro, in Lisbon on September 20, to foster the learning of Portuguese in Mainland China at primary and secondary education level.
In a press release, the institution said the protocol was signed with further activities in mind within Guangdong Province, especially Hengqin, where the institution still has yet to initiate any activity, according to information provided to Business Daily by a spokesperson from IPM.
The second initiative consisted of the launching of a week-long exhibition on September 22 to promote Chinese culture and Macau’s cultural and creative industries, at the University of Porto, north of Portugal.
The ‘pioneering’ initiative in Portugal is a joint project between the Advanced School of Arts and IPM’s Pedagogical and Scientific Centre for the Cultural and Creative Industries, the institution announced in another press release.
In response to Business Daily’s questions, the IPM spokesperson said the institution’s President was not involved in the signing of any other protocol related to the eventual establishment of a unified entry exam to Portuguese universities for Macau students.
The University of Macau also said its Faculty of Arts and Humanities had signed a collaboration agreement with the Faculty of Arts of the University of Porto on September 22 for an exchange programme of undergraduate students, entering ‘a formal stage of promoting student exchange.’
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Eight local higher education institutions invited by GAES to visit Portugal:
University of Macau
Macao Polytechnic Institute
Institute for Tourism Studies
Academy of Public Security Forces
Macau University of Science and Technology
City University of Macau
University of Saint Joseph
Kiang Wu Nursing College
