Aiming high and looking far, Associate Dean Khong Yueng Wah of the Faculty of Finance of City University of Macau is familiar with the development programs of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. She took the initiative to reach a cooperation agreement with the Financial Research Institute in the Hengqin Entrepreneurship Valley to accelerate the advancement of the greater bay area. In particular, the collaboration will create favourable conditions for the exchange, training and joint research of teachers and students in both Macao and Hengqin and contribute to a long-term integration of higher education resources.
On 19 September, 2019, Associate Dean Khong Yueng Wah, after establishing the platform of exchange and mutual assistance between Hengqing and Macao, led the students for master’s and doctoral degrees from the Faculty of Finance of CityU to visit some learning bases, thus giving the students an important window through which they could observe the development of the greater bay area. The day for the off-campus research and study featured a tight but well-made schedule. Starting from CityU, the teachers and the students arrived at the first leg – the Hengqin Planning Exhibition Hall. After taking a group photo, both the group followed the interpreter around the exhibition hall, learning about the rapid development of Hengqin in different respects. In particular, Hengqin was introduced from the perspective of national strategy: As a new national development zone, Hengqin will follow the principle of "cooperation, innovation and service", give full play to its exceptional location where Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao meet, advance its deep cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao, and achieve integrated development. By doing so, it aims to gradually develop itself into a demonstration zone exploring a new model of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao cooperation under the system of "one country, two systems", a pioneering zone deepening China’s reform and opening-up and technological innovation, and a new platform stepping up the industrial upgrading of the west bank of the Pearl River Estuary. Moreover, it will transform itself into an experimental zone of free trade and become an important hub of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and a forerunner of China’s another round of reform and opening-up.
The second leg of the journey was the Hengqin Innovative Financial Research Institute, where the teachers and the students visited the exhibition hall of the Hengqin Entrepreneurship Valley. Home to the latest technologies, impressive creativity and energetic talents, the whole entrepreneurship valley is well organized, with appropriate light, green coverage and building designs. It is an advanced carrier of learning, practice and joint research. Afterwards, the group was received and led by Director Tang Shiqi to visit the financial research institute. What attracted the students the most was a semi-circular meeting room with an open-ended style, where both teachers and students can express their ideas and share the latest financial knowledge. Then, Director Tang led the group to an amphitheatre-styled meeting room, where he introduced the original intention of opening the financial research institute, the distinctive features of the institute’s education, and painted a blueprint for the financial development of Hengqin. Associate Dean Khong Yueng Wah gave Director Tang a souvenir of CityU, expressing the brilliant prospect that she would lead the teachers and the students of the Faculty of Finance to advance the talent training in the greater bay area. There is a wide range of frontier financial issues on which the teachers and the students of the two places can share ideas, including financial technology, special finance, financing and entrepreneurial training, and trade quantification research.
The last leg was Xiangzhou Port, an archaistic zone with the distinctive features of Hengqin. It is so exquisite and quintessential that it looks like the Forbidden City in Beijing. The group visited the Truth-seeking Cultural Museum, where a series of well-crafted artistic works were showcased, including the Painted Pottery of Guangzhou, the Red Sandalwood Carving, and the Jade Carving. The visit not only enriched the students’ knowledge of culture and art but also deepened their understanding of beauty. The whole zone consists of three streets and five alleys, with 136 courtyards. Based on the Luodai Blog Town in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, it is a landmark of intangible cultural heritages. During the visit, the students witnessed the beauty of building, design and art.
This off-campus visit of the Faculty of Finance of CityU was a colourful one. Through this experience, Associate Dean Khong Yueng Wah provided the teachers and the students with a diverse cultural exchange platform and worked tirelessly for a multifaceted training for the prospect of the students.
