The University of Macau (UM) has gained a great reputation in mainland China in just five years, establishing academic links and recruiting students from 25 provinces across the country, according to the information provided by the UM Registry.

Starting from 2007, five new provinces, Anhui, Shanxi, Hebei, Heilongjiang and Jilin are added to the recruitment list. At present, UM has more than 6,000 students in total, of which over 1000 are mainland students.

Eduarda Vu Ka Vai, head of Registry said that in order to cultivate high quality professionals for society and maintain relationships with mainland China, from 2001 to 2006, UM had recruited mainland students from 20 major cities and provinces which included Beijing, Shanghai,Tianjin, Chongqing, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Guangxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Jiangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan.

"The total number of mainland students accepted each year is no more than 200," said Vu. "The promotional activities of the University are mainly delivering speeches through the Enrolment and Vocation Guidance Office in each province."

Apart from this, UM not only provides scholarships to students who get the highest score in the college entrance examination, but also offers different types of scholarships to attract mainland students.

However, during the interview, Vu said that because of the increasing number of mainland applicants and the rising reputation of UM, the University will possibly raise its admission requirements for applicants, with the aim to further enhance its own quality as a whole. Vu said: "In 2006/2007, UM raised admission requirements from the second pass marks to the fist pass marks."

Nevertheless, facing the pressure of competition with mainland universities, the teachers' quality, the English-based education and the combination of Western and Eastern teaching styles have given UM advantages to succeed in this competition, according to Vu.

Compared to universities in HK, Vu stated that UM's biggest advantage is the tuition, which is much cheaper than that of Hong Kong. Additionally, providing more opportunities for students in research and academic exchange abroad also give UM a distinctive edge.

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