UM rector attends AULP annual meeting in Brazil

To deepen exchanges and cooperation with higher education institutions in Portuguese-speaking countries, Rector Yonghua Song and Vice Rector Rui Martins of the University of Macau (UM) led a delegation to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to attend the 33rd annual meeting of the Association of Portuguese Speaking Universities (AULP). They also visited renowned universities and educational institutions and established a number of collaborative projects.

This year’s AULP annual meeting was hosted by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and brought together representatives and scholars from AULP member institutions in Portuguese-speaking countries and regions around the world. During the meeting, UM signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in the presence of AULP member institutions. Song also met with Sandra Almeida, president of UFMG, and João Martins, rector of Universidade Nacional Timor Lorosa’e (UNTL). In addition to discussing collaborative projects between UM and universities in Portuguese-speaking countries, Song reached a consensus with UFMG and UNTL respectively on student and faculty exchanges and collaborative projects in key disciplines.

Additionally, an important resolution was passed at the meeting of AULP Board of Administrators, approving UM to host the 35th annual meeting of AULP. Martins is delighted with the adoption of the resolution. He looks forward to inviting university representatives, scholars, and higher education experts from Portuguese-speaking countries and regions to the AULP annual meeting at UM in 2026, with a view to strengthening the development of an international platform for cooperation and exchange between China and Portuguese-speaking countries and further promoting the win-win cooperation between universities on both sides in education.

During their stay in Rio de Janeiro, the UM delegation also visited UFRJ and signed a student exchange agreement with Roberto de Andrade Medronho, rector of the university. The two parties also had a meeting to explore further student and faculty exchanges, cooperation in key disciplines, and the joint organisation of seminars between the two universities.

At the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Song signed a cooperation agreement with Marley Vellasco, vice president of the university, and reached a consensus on launching student exchange programmes at the university level and organising joint academic exchange activities. The two parties also agreed to strengthen cooperation in various fields, such as the Portuguese language, law, social sciences, and computer engineering.

The UM delegation also visited Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), a prestigious think tank and higher education institution in Brazil. During the visit, UM signed a memorandum of understanding and student exchange agreements with FGV to expand its cooperation in research and education as well as its student and faculty exchange network in Brazil. The two parties will launch exchange programmes for students in business administration and social sciences in the 2024/2025 academic year. Following the signing ceremony, the delegation had a meeting with representatives from various disciplines at FGV and they extensively discussed research and teaching cooperation in the fields of law, business administration, and social sciences, with the hope of leveraging each other’s strengths to jointly build a platform for high-level research and teaching cooperation.

The UM delegation’s visit to Brazil has not only deepened the university’s cooperation with higher education institutions in Portuguese-speaking countries and enabled it to explore more opportunities for international exchanges for students and faculty, but has also given new impetus to the exchanges and cooperation in education between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. UM will make full use of its strengths in teaching, research and internationalisation to continue to serve as an important gateway for higher education exchanges between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, thus contributing to the development of higher education.

The UM delegation also included Tong Io Cheng, dean of the Faculty of Law; Wang Ruibing, director of the Global Affairs Office; Carlos Silvestre, professor in the Faculty of Science and Technology; and Francisco Leandro, associate professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences.