The Faculty of Finance of the City University of Macau held the Quality Assurance Committee meeting for the 2020/2021 academic year on the Taipa campus on 16 July 2021. Some Committee members joined the meeting online due to the pandemic.
Pro-Rector Sean Li Shuying expressed his gratitude to the experts from the industry and academia and student representatives for attending the meeting online amid the pandemic. The Quality Assurance Committee is an important component of the University’s work and Pro-Rector Li acknowledged the Faculty of Finance’s efforts in programme quality assurance in the previous years. He hoped to take the opportunity to discuss the development of new programmes with the industry and academic experts, faculty members and students through the Quality Assurance Committee meeting and to receive suggestions and comments from different perspectives, thus further enhancing the Faculty’s teaching quality. Pro-Rector Li also expressed his expectation that the Faculty of Finance will be accredited with BGA Gold status in the future and will accelerate the process of applying for new programmes.
Dean Cheung Wai Kong of the Faculty of Finance extended his heartfelt thanks to the Committee members for their support and assistance in the past academic year. He also reported on the Faculty’s management of quality assurance, including the recruitment of academic staff, the development of future programmes, teaching achievements in the past academic year, and the award of BGA Silver status validation to the Faculty. Associate Dean Khong Yueng Wah of the Faculty of Finance then talked about a series of activities conducted in the past academic year to enhance the teaching quality, including academic forums, seminars, workshops, exchanges and visits, as well as student development programmes jointly organised by the Faculty and the industry, all of which were aimed at enabling students to develop in a more diversified way. After that, Associate Professor Wu Zefu and Assistant Professor Lin Deqin, Course Coordinators of the Faculty of Finance, gave a detailed presentation on the teaching and programme quality assurance of the Faculty’s doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s degree programmes.
Committee members expressed their views on how to improve teaching quality:
Mr Li Qiang, Deputy General Manager of the Financial Markets Department of the Bank of China Macau Branch, commended the Faculty of Finance for its excellent teaching and research achievements despite the challenges imposed by the pandemic. He suggested that the Faculty should focus more on the field of green finance and facilitate interaction with the industry in the future.
Dr Vincent Huen Wai Kei, Senior Treasurer of SJM Holdings Limited, acknowledged that the Faculty of Finance’s programmes have played a positive role in Macao’s adequate economic diversification. He proposed that the Faculty should provide more practical learning opportunities for students and place emphasis on the field of FinTech to support the breakthrough development of Macao’s economy.
Professor Desmond Yuen Chun Yip of the University of Macau spoke positively of the Faculty’s achievements in the collaboration between enterprises, universities and research institutions. He suggested that the Faculty should improve students’ ability to analyse real-life problems and broaden their horizons by incorporating international case studies and basic content on technologies such as AI into the curriculum, as well as enhancing curriculum viability. Also, the Faculty could consider adopting a more flexible policy in addressing the issue of student internships.
PhD student representative, Ren Hanjun, expressed satisfaction with the Faculty of Finance’s innovative teaching model, curriculum design, promotion of certification, and implementation of training programmes. They proposed that the University should clarify the mechanism for cooperation with the industry and implement post practice programmes, increase the number of exchange students and broaden students’ horizons.
Master’s student representative, Wang Weiyao was satisfied with the curriculum design, teaching hours and academic seminars. They suggested that the Faculty should make greater use of the Finance Laboratory increase internship opportunities and launch career coaching classes.
Undergraduate student representative, Lam Chak Kei, was very satisfied with the curriculum design. They hoped that the Faculty will arrange more visits to enterprises and offer more summer study opportunities for undergraduate students.
The Faculty of Finance’s Quality Assurance Committee for the 2020/2021 academic year is composed of the following members: Deputy General Manager of the Financial Markets Department of the Bank of China Macau Branch, Li Qiang; Senior Treasurer of SJM Holdings Limited, Dr Vincent Huen Wai Kei; Professor of the University of Macau, Desmond Yuen Chun Yip; PhD student representative, Ren Hanjun; master’s student representative, Wang Weiyao; and undergraduate student representative, Lam Chak Kei.
Pro-Rector Li concluded the meeting by mentioning that the Faculty of Finance has been listening to the views and suggestions of the experts from the industry and academia and student representatives through the annual Quality Assurance Committee meeting to ensure the Faculty’s sustainable implementation of quality assurance management. The University will work with the Faculty at the university level, with the hope of providing more exchange opportunities for students in the future.