University representatives from other countries

The University of Macau (UM) is one of the most prestigious higher education institutions in Macau. This year is its jubilee celebration. What did it take for a privately owned institute to transform itself into one of the internationally recognized universities?

UM was originally called the University of East Asia (UEA) when it was first established in March 1981 as a privately owned educational institute. UEA was founded with the assistance of the Government of Macau and some personages in Macau.

Surprisingly, at the early stages, students in the University were mostly from Hong Kong where there were only two universities at that time. This phenomenon hit its peak when 82 percent of UEA students were from Hong Kong

When it was first formed, there were three colleges in UEA, which were University College, Junior College, and College of Continuing Education.

In the early years the University did not offer many choices of majors, though some of the courses were quite well-known. For example, the MBA course fostered a group of graduates who successfully secured prestigious positions in different corporations.