In order to facilitate communication and interaction with local youth, the Director of the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), Ieong Meng Chao, gave a talk at the University of Macau (UM) to over 60 students majoring in Business Administration on 10 April. The event “A Dialogue between Students and Director of Statistics and Census Service: Let the Numbers Speak” was held with a view to increasing students’ interest in statistics and to promoting interpretation and application of statistical data in a scientific and objective manner.

In the event, Director Ieong introduced official statistics in a simple approach, explained how to interpret statistical data correctly with interesting cases, shared tips on employment with the students and presented the opportunities and challenges brought about by big data to official statistical works. According to Director Ieong, statistics is related to people’s daily lives and critical thinking and rational perspective are necessary for analysing and understanding the meaning of numbers when dealing with various statistical data.

Moreover, Director Ieong noted that there was a rising prevalence of application of statistical analysis in every industry when he presented the employment data of local graduates. He advised students to equip themselves with practical statistical knowledge to enhance competitiveness for future employment. During the question and answer session, Director Ieong answered various questions raised by students on official statistics, surveys, data collection, etc.

Through this event, Director Ieong hoped to enhance young people’s interest and understanding in statistical works and application of data, and encouraged young people to observe more, think more, improve rational decision making skills and analytical skills, and adopt scientific approach to reflect on and solve problems.