The SAR Government adopts higher education as a platform and leverages Macao’s unique cultural advantage of East-meets-West heritage to promote cultural and people-to-people exchange at the international level, act as an important bridgehead for China’s high-standard opening-up, turn the city into an important window of exchanges between Chinese and Western civilisations, and expand its international circle of friends. In order to strengthen and facilitate a deep understanding of national realities, Chinese culture and latest updates on the nation’s developments among international talents in higher education institutions of Macao, the Education and Youth Development Bureau (hereinafter referred to as the DSEDJ) organised a study visit to Beijing, from 16 to 20 June, for 28 members of middle to senior-level personnel and teaching and research staff who are foreign nationals or non-native Chinese speakers.

The study visit programme is hosted by the DSEDJ and co-organised by the Macau Higher Education Development Promotion Association. An opening ceremony was held on 17 June at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) to mark the beginning of the classes. Prior to the ceremony, Kong Chi Meng, Director of the DSEDJ, and Li Xuefei, Director of the Department of Education and Youth Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, met with the group of international talents from Macao higher education institutions for an exchange session. Some foreign teaching and research staff expressed that it was their first visit to Beijing and that they looked forward to learning more about the capital and acquiring a deeper understanding of Chinese culture through the programme. Director Kong Chi Meng noted that the Macao SAR Government has continued to promote the internationalisation and high-quality development of Macao’s higher education, with a view to attracting and pooling more international talent, building the city into a hub that welcomes talent from around the world, reinforcing its role as a connector between China and the outside world, and profoundly integrating its unique blend of Chinese and Western cultures into the education system. At the opening ceremony, Zhang Baojun, Vice President of BLCU, and Carlos Roberto Xavier, Head of the Department of Higher Education of the DSEDJ, each delivered a brief introduction, followed by speeches by representatives of the participants: Stephen Morgan, Rector of the University of Saint Joseph, and João Veloso, Head of the Department of Portuguese of the University of Macau.

The DSEDJ will continue to provide opportunities for higher education institutions and international talent in Macao to visit the Mainland to gain insights into its developments in terms of academic disciplines and scientific research, so that teaching staff at local higher education institutions will have an increased understanding of China’s national policies and educational developments that will help them cultivate talent in fields that align with the needs of the nation and the strengths of Macao, thereby assisting the city in becoming an international top-tier talent hub and in performing well its unique role in building China into a leading country in education.