Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Ao Ieong U visits UM and highly recognises the university’s work in technological innovation and science popularisation

A delegation led by Ao Ieong U, secretary for social affairs and culture of the Macao SAR, today (1 March) visited the University of Macau (UM). She praised UM for its rapid development in recent years and highly recognised the university’s achievements in technological innovation and science popularisation.

In the company of UM Rector Yonghua Song, the guests first visited UM’s State Key Laboratory of Internet of Things for Smart City (SKL-IOTSC) to learn more about the innovative achievements of the lab in basic research, smart sensing, smart energy, intelligent transport, public safety, and disaster prevention. The guests also learned about the lab’s efforts in launching projects as part of industry-academic collaboration and their applications in smart city development. According to Rector Song, UM in recent years has been actively making plans to improve its technological innovation system and accelerating the movement of research results from the lab to the production line, in order to promote moderate diversification of Macao’s industries.

Afterwards, the delegation visited the Macao Base for Primary & Secondary STEM Education. During the visit, Prof Tam Kam Weng, director of the Centre for Science and Engineering Promotion, introduced UM’s STEM education programmes, science education activities, and the outcome of the university’s work. He also used a science equipment to demonstrate ‘wave-particle duality’. According to Rector Song, UM attaches great importance to science education. The university will continue to make use of its resources, such as state key labs and advanced research platforms, to actively create national-level platforms for science popularisation. The university will also encourage the integration of scientific research and science popularisation to enhance the scientific literacy of students in Macao.

According to Secretary Ao Ieong, as a comprehensive public university in Macao, UM not only has achieved remarkable results in research and innovation, in the application of research results, and in science popularisation; the university has also leveraged Macao’s characteristics to produce cutting-edge research results that can meet international standards and the demand for moderate economic diversification of Macao. The university has also produced many outstanding professionals that are now contributing to Macao’s economic and social development. She added that the secretariat cares about and supports UM’s development, and expressed hope that UM would seize this unprecedented opportunity in history to further promote the development of technological innovation and science education in Macao, the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Members of the delegation included Ho Ioc San, director of the Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture; Lo Hou Chi and Ng Chi Keong, advisors of the office; Kong Chi Meng, director of the Education and Youth Development Bureau; Teng Sio Hong, deputy director of the bureau; and Vong Ka Kei, interim deputy director of the bureau. UM members who received the guests during the visit included Ge Wei, vice rector of UM; Xu Chengzhong, dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology and interim director of the Institute of Collaborative Innovation; Ma Shaodan, assistant director of the State Key Laboratory of Internet of Things for Smart City, and Yang Zhixin, director of Research Services and Knowledge Transfer Office.