The inauguration ceremony was attended by Rector’s Office Director Ieong Sao Leng, who was representing Rector Wei Zhao; Registrar Paul Pang; Communications Office (CO) Director Katrina Cheong; as well as teachers, students and parents. CO Director Katrina noted that the UM Reporter Programme and the PR Student Ambassador programme aim to provide a platform for students to discover their talents and strengths, to know more about the campus, and to make a contribution to the university, adding that CO also hopes to provide one more channel for students to learn useful skills outside the classroom and to help foster a campus culture which encourages students to care about the university.
At the ceremony, UM Reporters and PR Student Ambassadors played a video which showed their work in the previous year. Registrar Paul Pang helped the students put on the reporter pass and encouraged the students to keep their passion in their future work. Rector’s Office Director Ieong Sao Leng helped the students put on their name badges. CO Director Katrina Cheong presented certificates to the top ten PR Student Ambassadors.
For Ling Tan, one of the first batch of UM Reporters, the greatest gain has been the discovery of new interests. “For instance, now I follow campus news and current events more closely,” says Ling. “And whenever I read a magazine, I would think about my own news writing experiences.” Chui Sin I, from the fourth cohort of PR Student Ambassadors, especially enjoys guiding campus tours. “I didn’t know I would guide campus tours when I joined the programme, but after I tried it a few times, I found that I liked it,” she says. “It gives me a chance to meet people from all over the world and learn from them. I hope to be a better campus tour guide in the future, and I would also like to try different things to discover my interests.”
Several other UM Reporters and PR Student Ambassadors shared their thoughts afterwards, and the ceremony ended with student performances.
So far 160 students have participated in the PR Student Ambassador Programme, which was launched by CO four years ago, and 60 have participated in the UM Reporter Programme, which was also launched by CO two years ago. Two students, Ling Tan and Dayday Wu, have been promoted to the position of Senior UM Reporter. A new position of press photographer was created this year for the latest cohort of UM Reporters to attract students who like photography.
Should you have any inquiries about the press release, please feel free to contact Ms. Albee Lei at（853）8397 4323 or prs.media@um.edu.mo or visit UM webpage www.umac.mo
