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UM and the Tertiary Education Services Office of Macao SAR will co-organize an International Forum on University Governance: Keys to Competitiveness |
The University of Macau (UM) and the Tertiary Education Services Office of Macao SAR co-organized an International Forum on University Governance: Keys to Competitiveness, on 21 and 22 February, at Macao Science Center. Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of Macao SAR Mr. Cheong U officiated at the forum. Government officials of higher education (HE), council members and presidents/rectors of tertiary institutions, as well as senior HE scholars and administrators having first-hand experience in governance-wise reforms from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Europe and North America attent the forum. They discussed a range of issues, including university governance, autonomy, accountability and strategic planning, with Macao SAR government officials, members of Macao’s Legislative Assembly, members of UM’s Charter Revision Task Force, and representatives from local tertiary and other educational institutions. The forum aimed to help find a governance model that suits UM and was in line with international trends and standards in higher education.
The 2-day forum revolved around six topics, namely “Optimizing Autonomy of Publicly-funded Institutions: Objectives, Structures, Process and Strategy”, “Models of University as Legal Person: Statutory Entity, Foundation Subsidiary or Incorporated Body”, “System (External) Governance: Government Relationship, Funding Models & Increased Autonomy”, “Institutional (Internal) Governance: Enhanced Role of University Council/Board and Its Effective Relationship with the Administration”, “Balance between Autonomy, Control and Accountability”, and “Towards a First-Class University: Governance Reform Experience”. The first day was devoted to the first four topics, and the second day focused on the last two.
Keynote speakers for the first day included Director-General of the Department of Policies and Regulations, Ministry of Education, People’s Republic of China, Mr. Sun Xiaobing; Former Secretary-of-State for Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal and current Director of the Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research, Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal, Prof. Manuel Valsassina Heitor; Secretary-General of the International Secretariat, University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific, Taiwan, Mr. Tony W.T. Lin; Dean of the School of Law, Tsinghua University, Beijing, Prof. Wang Zhenmin; Senate Chairman and Professor Emeritus of Economic Geography at National Seoul University, South Korea, Prof. Sam Ock Park; Rector of the New University of Lisbon and President of the Portuguese Council of Rectors Prof. Antonio Rendas; Senior Executive Vice President of Global Strategy, Development, and Evaluation at Tsinghua University, Taiwan, Prof. Feng Da-Hsuan; former Commissioner of Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and former Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Texas System, U.S., Dr. Kenneth Ashworth; Provost of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prof. Benjamin W. Wah; Emeritus President at Texas A & M University (U.S.) and Visiting Chair Professor of Management at UM Prof. William Mobley; former Senior Advisor to the Vice Chancellor and former Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Chair Professor of Education at the University of Hong Kong, Prof. Kai Ming Cheng; and Vice Council Chairman at Hong Kong Baptist University, Mr. Yan Kee Cheng.
Keynote speakers for the second day included President and CEO of Higher Education Quality Council Ontario, Canada, Dr. Harvey P. Weingarten; Vice President (International Affairs) of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Prof. Er Meng Hwa; Associate Vice President (External Relations) of Hong Kong Institute of Education Prof. Mok Ka Ho; Chair Professor and Dean of the College of Commerce at Chengchi University, Taiwan, Prof. Kwei Tang; Rector of the University of Minho, Portugal, Prof. Antonio M. Cunha; and Prof. Elsa Hackl at the University of Vienna, Austria.
Faced with fierce competition amid increasing economic globalization, the Macao SAR government is in urgent need of a large number of outstanding professionals to meet future challenges. The implementation of the new UM campus project shows that the central government and the Macao SAR government attach great importance to higher education development in Macao. In view of external competition and high expectations from various parties, it is more necessary than ever for UM to establish a governance model that can cope with international competition and better support its future development. Last June, the SAR government established the UM Charter Revision Task Force to revise UM’s Charter in order to create more favorable conditions for the university to realize the goal of becoming a world-class institution. It is against the abovementioned background and with the purpose of finding a suitable governance model to enhance UM’s international competitiveness that this forum is organized.
The forum will be conducted mainly in English, with simultaneous interpretation into Portuguese and Mandarin. For enquiries, please call 83974306/83974392 or email to rebeccatai@um.edu.mo/ lawrencelou@um.edu.mo.
Should you have any query, please feel free to contact Ms. Albee Lei at（853）8397 4325 or albeelei@um.edu.mo or visit UM webpage www.umac.mo.
