UM’s decade of achievements on Hengqin Island: Key milestones of the past decade

Major events

In July 2014, Dr Lam Kam Seng Peter was appointed Chair of the University Council of UM

In August 2014, UM relocated to its new campus on Hengqin Island and held a convocation

In December 2014, President Xi Jinping visited UM and engaged in discussions with students

In 2016, UM was awarded the Medal of Merit—Education by the Macao SAR Government

In January 2018, Prof Yonghua Song assumed his role as the ninth rector of UM

In June 2018, President Xi Jinping replied to a joint letter from Macao’s higher education institutions, outlining his expectations for their future endeavours

In July 2020, Mr Ho Iat Seng, chief executive of the Macao SAR, chancellor of UM, and chair of the University Assembly, presided over his first joint meeting of the University Assembly and University Council for the 2019/2020 academic year

In 2021, UM released its Five-Year Development Plan for the academic years 2021/22 to 2025/26

Key developments

UM’s position in the THE ranking improved from 276-300 in 2015 to 193 in 2024, while its QS World University Rankings rose from 701+ in 2015 to 254 in 2024

The student population grew from approximately 8,000 to more than 13,500 in ten years

Academic and programme structures were consistently refined. The number of programmes offered increased from 96 to 120 over a ten-year period

In 2024, UM ranked the top 1 per cent in 12 subjects in the Essential Science Indicators rankings, up from 5 subjects in 2018

UM launched multiple collaborative talent development programmes with leading universities in mainland China, and joined the C9 League+ in late 2023

The number of higher education institutions partnering with UM increased from 183 to 320 over the past ten years, spanning 38 countries and regions

UM actively responded to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic by leveraging its high-end think tank expertise

UM established more academic platforms to support Macao’s social developments