UM, NKOIL sign agreement to strengthen collaboration in smart city development

The University of Macau (UM) and Nam Kwong Petroleum & Chemicals Co.,Ltd (NKOIL) have signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement. Through this agreement, both parties hope to promote the commercialisation of research results, cultivate talent, and jointly create a smart city in Macao. Both parties will give full play to their respective advantages and carry out cooperation in four areas, namely gas pipeline network optimization, energy internet of things, comprehensive utilisation of distributed energy, and special equipment safety monitoring. They also plan to establish a mechanism for regular communication and strengthen cooperation in nurturing talent in such areas as smart city development, internet of things, smart energy, and big data, for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. 

With the support of the Macao SAR government and the Science and Technology Development Fund, in 2018, UM obtained approval from the state government to establish a state key laboratory of internet of things for smart city development. The lab is dedicated to solving key scientific and technical problems related to internet of things for smart city development by proposing fundamental and general theories, algorithms, and systems. Since its establishment, the lab has been focusing on five areas, namely smart sensor and communication network, urban big data and smart technology, smart energy, smart transport, as well as urban public security and disaster prevention.

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nam Kwong Group, NKOIL takes ‘serving Macao and Macao residents’ as its mission. It is committed to optimising the energy structure and stabilising the supply of petroleum products in Macao to fulfil its social responsibility. Its subsidiary, Nam Kwong Natural Gas Company Limited, actively cooperates with and supports the implementation of the relevant administrative policies and concepts of the Macao SAR government, vigorously promotes clean and efficient energy as well as the digital application of natural gas pipeline networks and smart gas construction, and strives to be a champion of environmentally friendly new energy and smart city technology.

UM Rector Yonghua Song and NKOIL General Manager Tang Zhaohui signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations. Other guests who attended the agreement signing ceremony include Wang Tongyan, executive director and vice-president of Nam Kwong Group; Prof Ge Wei, vice rector of UM; Prof Yang Zhixin, director of the Research Services and Knowledge Transfer Office at UM; Lao Kin Sang, deputy general manager of NKOIL; Prof Wong Man Chung, professor in the State Key Laboratory of Internet of Things for Smarty City at UM and head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UM; and Zhang Haijun, assistant general manager of enterprise management of NKOIL.