Florinda Chan, acting chief executive of the Macao SAR and representative of the chancellor of UM, met with Nobel laureates Prof Robert C Merton and Prof Mo Yan, who are also this year’s recipients of honorary doctorates from UM. Chan exchanged ideas with the two Nobel laureates on the development of UM.

Chan welcomed Prof Merton and Prof Mo and thanked them for being the keynote speakers at UM’s Doctor honoris causa Forums to share their insights on finance and literature with the residents of Macao. Chan said that the new campus was a big gift to Macao from the central government on the tenth anniversary of the Macao SAR, and thus should fulfil the responsibility to nurture outstanding graduates for society. Chan added that it was unprecedented to have a campus of a Macao university physically located in Zhuhai but is under the jurisdiction of the Macao SAR.

Mo Yan noted that every city should have a representative university; for example, Beijing has a Peking University, and UM is a representative university in Macao and serves as an academic and cultural window. Mo also commented on the beautiful campus, saying that he believes the campus will be more beautiful in ten years’ time. Prof Merton talked about new campus, talent development, and other related topics.

Adviser of the Office of the Secretary for Administration and Justice Tchiang Van Kei, UM University Council Chair Lam Kam Seng, UM Rector Wei Zhao, Department of Chinese Head Prof Zhu Shoutong, and Communications Office Director Katrina Cheong were also present at the meeting.