To strengthen the higher education cooperation and exchange between mainland China and Macao, a delegation led by Professor Hu Jun, President of Jinan University, and accompanied by Mr Ma Iao Hang, the President of the Jinan University Macao Alumni Association, visited Macao Polytechnic Institute on 3 June and was warmly welcomed by President Lei Heong Iok. Both parties agreed to reinforce the academic cooperation and students and faculty exchange and discuss the idea of cooperation on Portuguese language.
During the meeting, professor Lei Heong Iok, President of MPI, introduced to the delegation that the strategy of MPI is to “place dual emphasis on teaching and research”, with a commitment to remain “rooted in Macao and backed up by the motherland while facing the world and striving for excellence”. MPI welcomes the chance to cooperate with Jinan University to create a favorable exchange opportunity for teachers and students. President Lei introduced the recent development of MPI’s core academic fields in the areas of teaching, research, Portuguese language, gaming, computing and English language. Also, President Lei expressed his gratitude to Mr Ma Iao Hang for his continuous support for MPI’s academic development throughout the years.
Jinan University appreciated the rapid development of MPI in recent years and its excellent provision of services to students. President Hu Jun introduced that Jinan University is a key comprehensive university which is listed in “211 Project” and jointly constructed by Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China and Guangdong Province. The name Jinan, meaning “Reaching to the South”, comes from the Book of History, one of the Confucian classics. It reads, “Reaching Eastward to the North and South, and spreading the culture far and wide”. Jinan University provides comprehensive subject/disciplines and more than 50,000 existing students. According to the Times Higher Education, Jinan University is ranked 215 in Asian University Rankings 2017, ranked 45 among universities in mainland China. The Jinan University-University of Birmingham Joint Institute at Jinan University is now admitting its first cohort of students. The joint Institute is a new milestone of the Sino-foreign joint education project. Jinan University will continue to strengthen its construction to be a high-level university and enhance the overall capability to adhere closely to the “Double First-Rate” rankings.
The guests attending the visit also included the Vice President of Jinan University, Professor Song Xianzhong, Director of the Office of Public Relations, Ms. Liang Yan, the Chief of the Board of the Directors’ Office, Ms. Wu Xuanfeng, and the Chief of the Liaison Office in Macau, Mr Ou Ruizhen. The delegation also visited the Chinese-Portuguese-English Machine Translation Laboratory and Professor Wu Weishan’s Sculpture Studio. The title of the studio is handwritten by Dr Ma Man Kei, the late Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples’ Political Consultative Conference while Mr Ma Iao Hang presided at the opening ceremony.
