An Agreement Signing Ceremony of the City University of Macau and the University of Coimbra, Portugal was held both onsite and online at the Dr. Stanley Ho Auditorium, Consulate General of Portugal in Macau and Hong Kong. The ceremony was witnessed by the Consul General, Paulo Cunha-Alves, and CityU Macau Council Chairman Chan Meng Kam. The two universities also signed an agreement on providing joint an advanced diploma program in international economic relations to cultivate bicultural and bilingual talent for Macao.

Paulo Cunha-Alves, Consul General of Portugal in Macau and Hong Kong, said in his speech that China had been maintaining friendly and close relations with Portuguese-speaking countries and had sought cooperation in culture, creative industry and education. The release of the “Overall Plan for the Construction of the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin” had provided new opportunities for Macao to play its role as a platform for connecting China and Portuguese-speaking countries. He was glad to be a witness of the cooperation between the University of Coimbra and CityU Macau. He wished the signing ceremony every success and looked forward to further cooperation in future.

João Nuno Calvão da Silva, Vice Rector of the University of Coimbra said further in-depth cooperation of Guangdong-Macao in Hengqin would promote cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. As a platform for cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, Macao would be able provide more students with the opportunity to study at universities in Portugal, benefit from first class teaching facilities and environment and learn from experts and scholars of different academic areas through the cooperation between the University of Coimbra and CityU Macau. That was the beginning of cooperation between the two universities and he hoped to see cooperation between more universities in future.

CityU Macau Rector Jun Liu thanked the Portuguese government and the Consulate General of Portugal in Macau and Hong Kong for their support. He also thanked Mr Derio Chan, representative of the University of Coimbra in Macao for his assistance in making the cooperation happen. Rector Liu said that CityU Macau was honored to have the opportunity to work with the University of Coimbra, which was the oldest and most accomplished university in Portugal. The cooperation of the two universities would provide CityU Macau students with the opportunity to further their studies at a first-class university in the world and experience the learning aura of a top-rated university, making contributions towards cultivation of bicultural and bilingual talent for Macao. The cooperation would focus on the discipline of finance, also a featured area of Macao. CityU Macau would keep up its efforts to promote the brand name of its financial programs and lay a solid foundation for exchange between teachers of the two universities and for joint research projects. CityU Macau hoped that the cooperation would set the scene for providing students with further exchange and learning opportunities at first-class universities in the world so that they would be able to gain more experience and develop international vision. CityU Macau had high hopes that the student would acquire a wealth of knowledge and contribute to Macao, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and even the country.

Mr Derio Chan, representative of the University of Coimbra in Macao, said that the medium of instruction of the joint program to be offered by the two universities was English and that would motivate students with English education background to further their studies in Portugal and open up a new platform for students to learn and experience Portuguese and European culture. The program would focus on international relations, politics and economics and would pass on the academic foundation and achievements of the University of Coimbra to the new generation of Macao through teaching and learning.  Students with a passing grade would be awarded an advanced diploma by the University of Coimbra and that would enable them to have better career development in Portuguese and Macao. He continued to say that the degree programs to be offered in the future would lay a more solid foundation for talent cultivation and for the development of a platform for China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Álvaro Garrido, Dean of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra, and Adrian Cheung, Dean of the Faculty of Finance of CityU Macau, also spoke at the signing ceremony. Both of them said they looked forward to the cooperation and hoped it would provide students with the experience to study at a first-class international university and help them study international relations and economics in depth, setting a good start for the cooperation between the two universiteis.

Source: City University of Macau News