As the 2023/2024 academic year is about to start, the University of Macau (UM) recently organised a series of new student orientation activities themed ‘The Way to UM’ to help new students to adapt to the university environment. The activities also enabled new students to make new friends, obtain information about the campus, and established a good relationship of communication and cooperation between the university and the parents.
To facilitate the arrival of new students from mainland China, UM provided shuttle bus services at the Border Gate and Hengqin Port. Rector Yonghua Song, Vice Rector Mok Kai Meng, and Dean of Students Paul Pang visited ten residential colleges to welcome the new students and their parents during the move-in period.
Aidan Chen, a new student in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and Cheong Kun Lun College, said that he was warmly welcomed by the upper-level students at the college, who introduced him to information about the college and helped him move into the college, believing that the college’s diverse activities would help students achieve personal growth. Lin Pui Chan, a new student in the Faculty of Business Administration and Stanley Ho East Asia College, mentioned that the ice-breaking activities and campus tours organised by the college helped new students from around the world feel more comfortable in the new environment, and he looked forward to enjoying his university life in such a free and fulfilling atmosphere. Dannie Chan, a second-year student in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Cheng Yu Tung College, said that helping new students moving into the college made him recall his similar experience last year, and he expressed hope that the new students would feel the care and warmth at the college.
To help new students prepare for their campus life, UM held the talk ‘First Step to UM’, during which representatives from the Student Affairs Office, Office of Sports Affairs, and the University of Macau Students’ Union introduced new undergraduate students to the university’s student services, training programmes, campus information and facilities, and academic regulations and guidelines. Moreover, the university invited the Judiciary Police to give four talks on the latest fraudulent practices and fraud prevention tips for students and parents in order to raise their awareness of fraud prevention. The Fire Services Bureau was also invited to give two talks on fire safety. A series of briefings was held to enable new students to access information on campus life, residence regulations, student care services, campus safety, and gender equity.
In addition, UM held the ‘Town Hall with Parents’ with the aim of promoting home-school cooperation and deepening parents’ understanding of the university. Rector Song gave a detailed presentation on UM’s whole-person education model and shared how the university addresses the challenges posed by global change. He also expressed hope that parents would build up mutual trust and respect with their children and cultivate their positive thinking and sense of responsibility, so that they could contribute to their families, society, and the country in the future. The parents appreciated UM’s educational philosophy and exchanged ideas with the rector and other department heads to find out more about their children’s studies and campus life.
