The University of Macau (UM) today (10 June) held the UM Prospective Freshmen Day on the new campus for over 1,000 prospective students and their parents so they could learn more about the university and the new campus.
The Prospective Freshmen Day opened with the Rector’s Reception. Rector Wei Zhao said he was happy to meet all the prospective students, who he hopes will become the first group of students in UM’s history to spend four full years living on the campus. He expressed thanks to the students’ parents and other residents of Macao for their hard work and contributions to society, which allowed UM to have sufficient fund to complete the construction of the new campus. He also expressed his hope that all faculty members and students have a thankful heart and live up to the high expectations and work together to develop UM into an outstanding university.
According to Rector Wei Zhao, the new cohort of students will be able to fully experience the benefits of the “4-in-1” model of education and live a real, colourful college life, and UM will provide the best-quality education to help them realise their dreams. In closing, Wei Zhao said he hopes the students not only get A’s in their studies but also focus on two C’s--Communication and Cooperation. He encouraged the students to learn how to effectively communicate with their friends, classmates, professors, college masters, and parents, as communication is a very important soft skill. He noted that in the process of building a beautiful, prosperous, and sustainable Macao, difference of opinions would be unavoidable, so it is important for the students to learn to cooperate with each other to achieve the common goal.
Activities following the Rector’s Reception included briefing sessions about the residential colleges, general education, and Honours College, as well as guided campus tours.
“Studying at UM has been my dream since childhood and I have learned a lot about UM on the Prospective Freshmen Day,” said a student surnamed Wong, who was accepted by UM on the recommendation of his school principal. “I look forward to starting a new chapter of my life here, and I hope I can join UM’s Students’ Union,” Wong added. Another student surnamed Lao, from Hou Kong Middle School, said that although he failed to enter UM on the principal’s recommendation, he did not give up and studied very hard for UM’s entrance examination. Eventually he was awarded the Lotus Scholarship and was accepted by UM’s Faculty of Social Sciences. Lao’s father said that his son has given up opportunities to go to universities in the United Kingdom and Taiwan because UM has always been his top choice. A student surnamed Chao likes the new campus very much but worries that he might have difficulty keeping up because English is the main teaching language, so he has decided to study hard in the summer holiday to improve his English.
