Liaison Office deputy director supports USJ in mainland student recruitment
Liaison Office deputy director supports USJ in mainland student recruitment
22
Feb
22/02/2022
The Deputy Director of the Central Government Liaison Office in Macao, Mr. Zheng Xincong, and his delegation visited the USJ on February 22.
On the morning of February 21st, 2022, a delegation of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao Special Administrative (SAR) Region led by its deputy director Zheng Xincong, visited the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) Ilha Verde Campus for a campus tour and meeting. The delegation was warmly received by USJ representatives, including vice-rector for Internationalisation and Strategic Development Prof. Álvaro Barbosa, vice-rector for Institutional Development Prof. Zhang Shuguang, and administrator Dr. Alejandro Salcedo.
During the campus tour, the delegation visited the Library, the Residential Hall, Student Activity Centre, Audio-Visual Production Studio, Design Studio, Architectural Studio, and the Digital Fabrication Lab. Vice-rector Zhang introduced the campus to deputy director Zheng during the tour, explaining that the Ilha Verde Campus was officially put into use in 2017 with the support of the Macao SAR government, becoming now the university’s main campus. After the tour, the delegation held a meeting with the present Senior Management, Deans, and Head of Departments of USJ.
In the meeting, vice-rector Barbosa introduced the university’s development history and current situation and emphasised the characteristics of USJ of being a student-oriented and multicultural institution with adherence to the values of innovation and collaboration and environmental protection. Vice-rector Barbosa also remarked that USJ has the distinct advantage of sharing international education and inheriting the Portuguese language and culture. As a young university, it has achieved good results in terms of education quality, ranking fourth in the Greater China region in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
In addition to thanking the Liaison Office of the People’s Republic of China for its continuous support and concern for the development of USJ, Vice-rector Zhang expressed that USJ is cooperating with the higher education strategies of the SAR government, especially towards mainland student recruitment. He also stated that the education policy of the University is closely related to social needs, focusing on technology research and development and technology transfer, and will highly cooperate with and integrate the economic development of the Greater Bay Area in the fields of data engineering, brain sleep research, and smart health care.
Deputy Director Zheng noted that USJ is a major academic platform for the integration of Chinese and Western cultures, playing a very important role in the development of Chinese culture and humanities studies while strengthening the country’s awareness of patriotism and love for Macao. Agreeing with the educational philosophy of USJ, Deputy Director Zheng says that in addition to continuing to adhere to the excellent standards of education and disciplines, USJ can also meet the needs of the society, building an educational foundation with morality as its standard, and promote academic cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries and European countries, playing an indispensable role in the “Belt and Road” and the “China-Portuguese Economic and Trade Exchange Platform”.
Lastly, deputy director Zheng also pointed out that due to the impact of the pandemic, more mainland students and parents will consider Macau to experience its unique international education and living environment. To this end, the Liaison Office of the People’s Republic of China will vigorously support USJ in the admission recruitment work of students in the mainland.
Among the delegation of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR were Ms. Xu Ting, Minister of the Education and Youth Affairs Department; Mr. Shi Shuzheng, Deputy Minister of the Education and Youth Affairs Department; Mr. Li Yongxian, Director of the University Office under the Education and Youth Affairs Department; Mr. Xu Zhiping, Deputy Director of the University Office under the Education and Youth Affairs Department; Mr. Li Yongle, Assistant of the Education and Youth Affairs Department; Mr. Feng Longfei, Secretary of the Education and Youth Affairs Department.
Other attendees from USJ in the meeting include Prof. Jenny Lao-Phillips, Dean of the Faculty of Business and La; Prof. George Du, Dean of the Institute for Data Engineering and Science; Prof. Jacky Ho, Director of Macao Observatory for Social Development; Ms. Teresa Loong; Director of Office for Student and Alumni Affairs; Ms. Isadora Leung, Head of Communication and Public Relations Office; and Mr. Stephen Chan Teng Fong, Office Director of the Diocesan Catholic Education Commission.
