Three years and it’s finally done. The inauguration ceremony for the new campus, which was held in November 2013, represented a dream come true for many, especially for those who were closely involved in the new campus project. In the cover story of this issue of umagazine, “Our New Campus—A Dream Come True”, we interview University Council Chair Tse Chi Wai, Rector Wei Zhao, chief architect of the new campus project and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering He Jingtang, as well as other colleagues from the University of Macau and the building contractor Guangdong Nam Yue Group Co. Ltd., who share with us their stories of the new campus project, the challenges they met along the way, and the hopes they have for the future.
It is people—industrious students, scholars well-versed in their areas of expertise, and administrative staff working diligently to support the university’s day-to-day operation—that imbue the new campus with character and vitality. So in addition to interviewing the top management and the administrative staff, we also interview students about their expectations for the new campus, as well as two new college masters, the eminent musician Prof. Kelvin Thompson and the renowned fiction writer Prof. Chung Ling, who are among the numerous well-known scholars that have joined the big family of UM in recent years. To coax a truly memorable performance from an orchestra a conductor needs to first coach, to give something quite extraordinary to the orchestra. In turn they return the favour. So what does Prof. Thompson wish to give to his students as a college master in order to help them achieve full potential? Having worked in the United States, Taiwan and Hong Kong, why did Prof. Chung Ling decide to start a new chapter at UM and what visions does she have for her residential college? For answers to these questions and more, please click here to read the e-version of the latest issue of umagazine.
