Groundbreaking ceremony for UM campus in Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin held today

The Land Handover and Groundbreaking Ceremony for the University of Macau’s Campus in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin was held today (9 December), marking the official commencement of the campus construction. The University of Macau (UM) is the first higher education institution in Macao to extend its teaching and research activities to the Cooperation Zone. Ho Iat Seng, chief executive of the Macao SAR, said that the establishment of a UM campus in the Cooperation Zone will further promote Macao’s better and faster integration into national development. It also marks a new milestone in the coordinated development and in-depth cooperation between Macao and Hengqin. He expressed hope that the UM campus in the Cooperation Zone will become a new model for leveraging Macao’s strengths to meet the country’s needs, developing Macao into an international hub for high-calibre talent, and promoting innovative cooperation and development in higher education in Macao.

Cheong Kok Kei, director of the Urban Planning and Construction Bureau of the Cooperation Zone, and Yonghua Song, rector of UM, first officiated at the land handover ceremony for the UM campus in the Cooperation Zone. The guests of honours then unveiled the commemorative plaque and laid the foundation stone for the UM campus in the Cooperation Zone. The guests included Ho Iat Seng, chief executive of the Macao SAR; Zhang Guozhi, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and vice governor of Guangdong Province; Chen Dali, deputy director general of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchange (Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs) of the Ministry of Education; Liu Decheng, director general of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR; Lei Wai Nong, secretary for economy and finance of the Macao SAR Government and director of the Executive Committee of the Cooperation Zone; Ao Ieong U, secretary for social affairs and culture of the Macao SAR Government; Nie Xinping, director of the Hengqin Office of the Guangdong Provincial People’s Government and deputy director of the Executive Committee of the Cooperation Zone; Wang Yueqin, director general of the Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province; Shao Yunzhen, deputy director general of the Department of Education of Guangdong Province; Gu Wanjun, second-level inspector of the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission; Lam Kam Seng Peter, chair of the University Council of UM; and Yonghua Song, rector of UM. The ceremony was also attended by officials from the Macao SAR Government and the Cooperation Zone, members of the University Council of UM and the University of Macau Development Foundation, as well as leaders and officers of UM. During the event, UM released an introduction video of the UM campus in the Cooperation Zone for the first time.

Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said in his speech that the purpose and mission of establishing a UM campus in the Cooperation Zone is to support and enrich the high-quality development of the Cooperation Zone, and enhance its development effectiveness, thereby realising the four strategic positions of the Cooperation Zone and achieving its planned development goals. He mentioned that the establishment of the UM campus in the Cooperation Zone has three goals: first, to become a new model for leveraging Macao’s strengths to meet the country’s needs; second, to become a new model for developing Macao into an international hub for high-calibre talent; and third, to become a new model for promoting innovative cooperation and development in higher education in Macao. He expressed hope that on this broader development platform, UM will attract and nurture more outstanding talent with a global mindset and international competitiveness, conduct high-level scientific research and innovation, and promote industry-academia collaboration, thereby making greater contributions to Macao’s economic diversification and the country’s high-quality development.

Rector Yonghua Song said in his speech that the land handover and groundbreaking ceremony for the UM campus in the Cooperation Zone is a milestone for the university. The event represents a historic opportunity for development coming at a time when UM is celebrating ten years of remarkable achievements after its relocation, amid the accelerated integration of Macao and Hengqin. The campus in the Cooperation Zone will focus on disciplines that complement and support the main campus, with an emphasis on cultivating outstanding talent in fields such as medicine, microelectronics, creative design, financial technology, and new engineering. Through the synergy and complementarity between Macao and Hengqin, UM aims to attract top international talent and faculty from various research fields worldwide. The university will also build high-level scientific research and innovation platforms to attract more high-quality and international research and innovation resources to Macao and the Cooperation Zone, so as to further enhance the quality of research innovation and industry-academia collaboration, and promote the country’s high-level opening up to the outside world in the field of education.

The campus is located in the southwestern part of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. It covers an area of approximately 375,600 square metres, with a planned gross floor area of 831,000 square metres. The campus will include: Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Faculty of Design, Faculty of Engineering, Interdisciplinary Research Institute, and Advanced Research Institute. It can accommodate 10,000 students and is expected to be operational by August 2028. To watch the video of the campus, please visit: https://shorturl.at/I22B6.